Naruto Invoke movie fics
by Keyote
Summary: first fic; Demon of the Blue Kingdom. 62 pages long with characters from Tenchi Muyo appearing. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino are sent on a mission to find the Spike of Circe, unaware of what awaits them within the Blue Kingdom.
1. Demon of the Blue Kingdom 1

**AN: **The following story is to be considered a movie fic that will be to my **Naruto Invoke: Overdrive **fic series what the Naruto movies are to the Naruto anime. Due to the length of the fic (62 freak'n pages), it will be split into five parts, each over ten pages in length. Doing this will make it easier to read for people who don't like to read long stories and for those who just don't have the time to read over fifty pages worth of story. And now, lets begin...

**A-part start**

The fishing net splashed into the water, quickly sinking under the waves as the fishermen worked hard to earn their paychecks. "Come on, lads. Don't be getting lazy on me now. There's still plenty of fish to be caught and the morning's still young" shouts the captain.

"Ay ay, sir" shout back the men in unison.

"Captain" came the voice of the cabin boy, getting the older gray haired man to turn and look at the kid who he had come to think of as his grandson. "What is it, boy?"

"I think we may have a storm coming in from the north, sir" said the boy who then points northward.

"Hm" said the captain as he ran a hand through his heavy beard. "That could become nasty when it gets here." He then looks back at his men and says "Listen up, ya bums. We may have a storm coming our way, so get as much sea food as you can catch before we're forced to weigh anchor and head home."

"Ay captain" they shout as they redouble their efforts.

He then looks back at the distant storm clouds and thinks _'If my guess is correct, we should have four or five hours before it gets to us at the current speed the wind is blowing.'_

A flash of lightning is seen within the distant clouds, then the clouds suddenly advance forward covering the full sky around the fishing vessel. "What the blazes?" says the surprised captain. In his fifty years working on the sea, he had never seen anything quite like this happen.

The darkened sky and the low rumbling made the men come to a stop as they all looked skyward. Suddenly, the ship rocks just a little from the waves that were beginning to build up. Something was wrong here, and the captain wasn't about to take any chances.

"Men, pull those nets up. We're heading back to port" shouts the captain.

Without a word or a moments hesitation, the men follow the order and start hauling their nets back into the boat, hoping that they had at least caught something already to make this trip at least somewhat profitable.

The cabin boy is about to head into the bridge to get the boat ready to depart when something catches his eye. In the water was a smaller vessel a good ways off. And there was a hooded figure standing in the small boat. The figure was surrounded by a light as it raised its hands into the air. The light surrounding the figure burst outwards and a loud thunderous boom shakes the sea.

"Captain, there's someone out there?" shouts the cabin boy.

"Say what...?" replies the captain as he looks and sees the small boat and the figure who was moving to sit down. _'Who in the Loche is that? And is he responsible for the weather getting weird?'_

His thoughts are interrupted as a powerful wave slams into the ship, causing it to jerk violently and knocking everyone off their feet. As they start to pick themselves up, a low moan like sound is heard. But it wasn't coming from the boat but from under the water.

The captain trusted his instincts and those instincts were telling him that something bad was about to happen. "Men, grab onto something" he shouts, but it was already to late as something slams into the bottom of the boat from beneath; blasting the vessel clear off the water.

The ship comes crashing back onto the ocean, causing all the men to yell in terror, one of the men was even thrown overboard into the water. "You all right?" calls one of the other men to his now swimming friend.

"Yeah, but what the hell was tha..." he doesn't finish as he is suddenly sucked beneath the water.

"Captain" shouts the concerned crew member, but any further words are frozen in his throat as they all see a massive tail burst free from the water, then comes crashing down onto the boat, destroying it in a single blow and sending the rest of the crew falling into the water.

"Men, don't panic; stay together" shouts the captain before something grabs him by his leg and pulls him under. The rest of the crew don't even have time to panic as they are all pulled under as well, one by one, till only the cabin boy is left, who manages to crawl onto a life raft that survived the hit.

"Captain? Guys? Anyone?" he shouts as he is gripped by unimaginable fear.

The reply he gets is the ocean exploding outwards nearby as the beast that had attacked them comes sailing out. The three eyes on the left side of its face look at him before the creature crashes back into the water and swims away, deciding to spare the last one.

The cabin boy knew what it was he had just saw. But until this moment, he had thought it to be just an old legend; a story told to scare children and to make them gain a respect for the sea and the life that lives within. But it was no legend. It was real and it was back.

"It...it's...it's the Scylla" he proclaims in terror while sullying his pants.

**Naruto Invoke: Overdrive movie fic 1:**

**Demon on the Blue Kingdom**

The sun shown down upon the hidden village of the Senju, also known as Senhana, and the third Hokage was taking a moment from his busy work to enjoy the breeze that was blowing in through the opened window of his office.

_'Maybe I should take the rest of the day off? At my age and considering all the long years of work I've done, I think I've earned a chance to slack off and play hooky ever now and then'_ mused Sarutobi.

The sudden knock at his door, followed by "Lord Hokage, lord Hokage, we've received a request for a job" comes the person from outside.

Sarutobi sighs; it looks like his break was gonna have to wait for another day. Sitting back in his chair, he shouts "Enter" while positioning himself to be looking at the door.

The man enters the room and quickly hands the envelope to his superior. Sarutobi studies the envelope and can easily tell that this was not local. It was also large and it was obvious that there was more than just a message within it. He then sees the crest pressed into the wax on the back, used to seal the letter up.

"Aquinia? This is an odd happening" said Sarutobi as he unseals the envelope. Aquinia, also known as the Blue Kingdom, was located on a set of islands that lay upon the Pasaden Ocean. For them to be requesting help from a ninja village was unheard of to say the least.

Once the envelope was open, Sarutobi saw that in addition to the letter, there was also money as well. It was Aquinia currency of course, but Sarutobi knew the exchange rate between their currency and the currency of Shumoa. And the money within was quite a considerable sum too.

"Why include pay with the request?" asked the delivery ninja.

"Obviously, the message giver isn't comfortable with direct meetings. Either that or he or she didn't have time to wait" replied Sarutobi as he places the money to the side. "Perhaps there will be an explanation included with the letter" he says as he pulls the letter free and unfolds it.

After reading it over carefully, Sarutobi looks at the delivery ninja and says "The sender is requesting aid in finding an ancient artifact known as the Spike of Circe, which he believes is on one of the neighboring islands around Aquinia. He's included the pay he feels will be satisfactory and if its not, he can pay more once the job is done."

"Does he say why he wishes to avoid a direct meeting and why he even needs our help to begin with?"

"He only says that time is against him for waiting and he needed to return home quickly. As for why he needs outside help? That will be explained directly by him once a team has arrived" replied Sarutobi.

After a moment to think, Sarutobi says "Good work; you may return to your duties now."

The man nods, then leaves while Sarutobi considers what he should do. Normally, a client refusing to meet with a representative of Konoha would void the request. But given the request was coming from a place outside the borders of their continent, he could forgive the lack of tact. Besides, he had paid in advance and was willing to give even more if needed once the job was completed. And then there was another possibility that his request may be flying in the face of the status quo of the rulers of Aquinia

"Crow" shouts Sarutobi.

A man dressed in Anbu garb appears in the room through a spiral of smoke and leaves and says "You called, lord Hokage."

Sarutobi nods, then says "I've decided to accept a mission that will send a team to the Blue Kingdom and I'll need you to make a quick trip to Wave, to charter a boat that will take them there."

"Understood" replies the man before disappearing in the same manner as he had appeared.

With that done, that just left who to send? The money given was enough to pay for a team of Anbu to be sent. But the mission request was just a simple treasure hunt. That entails the possibility of traps and maybe local thugs who were using those islands as hide outs. But it wasn't enough of a threat potential that would warrant sending Anbu. Sarutobi smiles as this gives him an idea. He pulls out a piece of paper and writes a message on it, then uses his chakra to shift it into looking like a bird.

"Deliver yourself to Iruka" says Sarutobi before thrusting it out the window, sending the message on its way through the sea of trees that made up Senhana.

**(Senhana-training field)**

The clouds slowly made their way across the expanse of sky as Shikamaru watched them lazily. It was times like these that he felt he could drift off into a never ending slumber and forget about his over worked life. In fact, catching a few Z's wasn't such a bad idea, if a certain blond haired loudmouth wasn't making such a racket that is.

Naruto was nearby, having a serious sparring session with several shadow clones; never content with his current strengths and abilities. He was always looking to improve in any way he could so that his dream of becoming Hokage would be realized one day.

As one clone prepare to attack, Naruto holds his hand out to make them pause. He then looks at Shikamaru and says "Is this really all you do, when you come to the training grounds? Just lay back and watch a bunch of clouds?"

"Pretty much" replied Shikamaru before yawning.

"I have an idea. Why not join me in doing some serious training?" asked Naruto.

"Not interested" replied Shikamaru.

"Oh come one, seriously? What about your family and the village? Don't you want to become stronger so as to make your family proud and so you can defend this village should the need arise? You do know that training is the quickest path to achieving both, right?" asked Naruto.

"I get enough training in for that when I do missions with Asuma-sensei. And with all the chores my mom has me help her with at home when I'm not on missions that I also consider training in its own way, being able to just sit back and relax is a luxury I have ever intention of enjoying" replied Shikamaru before turning onto his side, away from Naruto to let him know the talk was over.

Naruto huffed in annoyance, wondering how someone as lazy as him had even made it through the academy and graduated. But then he gets an idea. Naruto looks back at his clones and gives them a mischievous grin, which they understand when he points at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru could feel himself finally drifting off when he gets a feeling of impending danger. His eyes shoot open as he jerks his head so that he is looking up and sees all the Naruto clones in the air and heading right at him. Shikamaru curses as he pushes off the ground to avoid being hit by their attacks.

"Hey Naruto, what gives?" shouts an annoyed Shikamaru.

"What does it look like? Like it or not, your doing some training. And if you want that nap, then you'll have to beat me first" replied Naruto as he and the clones encircle Shikamaru and enter a battle stance.

Shikamaru groans, then rubs his temples with his hands while saying "I knew I should have picked a better spot." He then sighs before taking up his own battle pose, saying "This is a real drag, but I guess I got no choice here if I want to catch that nap I want."

Naruto and his clones charge Shikamaru, who jumps up and grabs onto a low hanging tree branch, which he uses to quickly pull himself up onto before grabbing a kunai. One Naruto leaps up after him and Shikamaru throws the kunai at him, making the clone disperse from the hit it wasn't able to avoid.

"Not bad, not its my move" comes Naruto from behind, landing a kick to Shikamaru's back before he can turn around and block the attack.

Shikamaru manages to right himself before reaching the ground. As soon as his feet touch terra firma, he goes into a roll and grabs the thrown kunai mid roll before ending in a kneeling position with his weapon at the ready.

"Not bad, but its still three against one" shouts a Naruto as they come at him.

_'Not for long' _thinks Shikamaru before making a hand sign, then says "Shadow Possession Jutsu."

Shikamaru's shadow quickly extends outwards, catching the nearest clone before it could dodge clear. Shikamaru then has it attack the next closest Naruto, making the clone puff out with ease. He then sends the controlled clone as a distraction against the remaining clone and the real Naruto, forcing them to jump back, but Shikamaru manages to catch the last clone with another shadow tendril as soon as it lands. He then has the two clones take each other out, leaving it down to just him and the real Naruto.

"So, one on one, huh? Fine with me" says Naruto who preferred it like this.

"Come at me if you dare" replied Shikamaru who wanted to finish this quickly so he could finally enter slumber land. The two boys then charge one another, deciding to end this up close and personal.

"Yaminaka Style: Ice Cream Headache."

Naruto and Shikamaru both find their heads jerking hard as the sudden pain in their heads causing them to lose balance and fall hard onto the ground, skidding forward just a bit. After a brief second, the pain fades away and they both look to see Ino, a big grin on her face, jumping down from a tree close by.

"That's cheating" complains Naruto as he and Shikamaru get up.

"Stealth, a surprise attack, and remaining unseen; these are the things ninja do. In our line of work, there's no such thing as cheating" points out Ino. "So, you like my new jutsu? I created it myself and you two had the honor of being my guinea pigs in seeing if it worked as well as the effect of it."

"So me and Naruto are just lab rats in your eyes?" wondered Shikamaru aloud.

Ino gives them both a coy smile, then says "Like I would treat a lab rat like that. No, you two are just special to me is all."

"Special, huh?" says Naruto who found a desire to wipe the cocky grin off Ino's face. "Maybe you'd like to spar with us too?"

"And remember, Ino. There's no gender on the battlefield either. So we won't hold back" adds Shikamaru, though he really wanted to just run off and get some sleep.

"Like I need you guys to hold back. Come at me and I'll show you who wears the pants in this club." Ino then takes up the usual Yaminaka pose while the boys each take up their own.

"OK you guys, enough with the old married couple routine" shouts Iruka as he comes into view.

_'Saved by the sensei'_ thinks Shikamaru, glad that this was over already.

"Married couple?" asked Ino as she looks at him. She then takes on a thinking pose and says "If I'm the wife, then which of these two is my husband and what role would the other one be?" She then looks at the boys and says "Tough choice. Either the loud mouth brother or the lazy uncle type. I just can't decide."

"What's up, Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto, ignoring Ino's little debate.

"Lord Hokage wishes to see all three of you; as soon as possible" replied Iruka.

"Any idea as to what he wants?" asked Ino.

Iruka shrugs, then says "Beats me. But maybe it has something to do with the Shadow Test you three were involved with recently."

"Well, what ever it is, we better get on over to him ASAP" says Naruto, getting a nod from Ino.

As they all walk off, Shikamaru thinks _'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'_

After arriving and entering the Hokage's office, the aged leader has them sit down before them while Iruka excuses himself. "So, you wanted to see us, old man?" asked Naruto.

"Correct" replied Sarutobi before taking a puff on his pipe. "I have a mission for the three of you."

_'I knew it'_ mentally groans Shikamaru.

"For all three of us? That's unusual" points out Ino.

"Considering you three will be sent without your sensei's, I can understand why you'd think that. And the mission itself is also unusual" said Sarutobi.

"Just the three of us, no senior ninja?" said a surprised Shikamaru. "Just what kind of mission is this?"

"The mission is actually a simple one. The three of you will be catching a boat bond for Aquinia, also known as the Blue Kingdom, on a treasure hunt for an object known as the Spike of Circe."

"A treasure hunt with the three of us? No offense, but just what kind of mission is this anyways?" asked Naruto.

"If you think that's weird, then this will blow your mind. The contact has paid us enough to warrant two Anbu ranked shinobi to be sent on this mission" said Sarutobi.

"Seriously?" asked Ino, surprised. "That much money for a treasure hunt? And yet your sending just us three? Did the client explain why so much for something so mundane?"

"That's the strangest thing of all. We never actually met the contact. He or she just left the request along with the money at the drop box and said all the request further details will be revealed upon arrival" explained Sarutobi.

"Still, sending just us seems a bit worrisome" said Shikamaru.

"Understandable" said Sarutobi before taking another puff. "If any of you don't wish to take this mission, I'll understand. But know that due to the money given, I've decided to make this a B-rank mission and doing it will go a long way to making you three Chunin sooner than normal. Plus, assuming that this IS a treasure hunt and nothing more, the worst I expect you to deal with are traps and bandits who are using the islands you'll be exploring as hide-a-ways."

"I'll do it" said Naruto. Though a treasure hunt wasn't very appealing to him, getting a B-rank mission in his files was worth it.

"I'll do it too. I hear that got interesting fashion's out there" said Ino.

They all look at Shikamaru, who sighs and says "Fine, I'll go. Beats staying at home and having my mom work me to death."

"Very well then. Go and gets your things together. As soon as I get word on a ship that will be heading their, I'll send word to you three at once" said Sarutobi. As the Genin get up and start to leave, he says "One more thing. If it turns out that there is more to this mission than what was told and if it appears to be outside your abilities to handle, send word to me at once and do nothing till back up arrives, understood?" He then hands Shikamaru one of his emergency scrolls that can me morphed into a bird.

The Genin nod, then leave the room to begin their preparations.

**(Temple of Ama)**

The Order of Ama, based within the Temple of Ama which sat atop a hill located in the Senai region of Shumoa, the same region that Konoha could be found in. To the outside world, the Order was simple a group of priestess's who would journey around and heal those who suffered. But within the walls and unknown to most, the Order of Ama were really Slayers, who hunted down and exterminated the threats of the Makai Realm should they ever enter our world as well as those who would summon those horrors. The founder of this Order, Amarillo, was believed to be a goddess to the outside world while the truth, known only to the Order itself, was that Amarillo was the partner of the Sage of the Six Paths.

Beneath the temple, in one of the Order's secret training rooms, we find one of the Order's best, a girl named Tenten, hard at work training her Sister, Hinata to help improve her skills. As only women were allowed membership within the order, the title of Sister was given and shared between two girls; one with experience like Tenten, and a new recruit as was the case with Hinata, and it was the job of the experienced Sister to train the newbie till she had earned her Black Sash, proof of her mastery of the Slayer skills.

"Again" instructs Tenten.

Though Hinata was feeling tired, she refused to let physical exhaustion hold her back. She would push herself as hard as possible in order to fulfill her dream; to be able to stand by the side of Naruto, the one who had saved her and gave her the chance to truly live her life as she wished to, and aid him as an equal, not a burden. Taking a deep breath, Hinata charges at Tenten and starts swiping and thrusting her battle claws at Tenten with as much speed and power as she could.

Though Tenten could still easily block and dodge her attacks, she still had to admit that Hinata's progress was amazing as was her determination. At this rate, she's earn her black sash in no time. That thought made Tenten feel a sense of jealousy in that moment. Hinata was on her way to beating Tenten's own record as the fastest to achieve that. Without realizing it, Tenten, swings one of her daggers outwards, knocking one of Hinata's attack to the side, then landing a quick kick to Hinata's stomach.

Hinata stumbles back, a hand planted against her stomach as she falls to her knees, coughing. "Hinata, are you OK?" asked a worried Tenten, angry with herself for her action as she leans down and places a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Sorry about that."

Hinata coughs a little more, then says "I...I'm fine, but..." Before Tenten knows it, she finds herself falling back and hitting the floor hard, a result of Hinata suddenly grabbing her by the ankle and knocking her off balance. Hinata waste no time getting on top of her, one of her battle claws pressed against her cheek and nose.

"You let your guard down, Sister" points out Hinata, unable to hide a grin. "And what have you always told me about that?"

"Heh, don't get cheeky" says Tenten, grinning as well as Hinata gets off her. Once back on her feet, Tenten says "Still, good work there. Now, I'm gonna start doing more than dodge and block."

Luckily for Hinata, she was spared from the smack down she knew Tenten would give her because of her cocky move when the door into the training room opens and a familiar figure enters. "Sorry girls, but play time is over. I have a mission for you two" said Sakuya, the second in command of the Order.

"Ah, and just when I was about to have fun" whines Tenten.

Sakuya gives her a knowing look, having a good idea as to what Tenten was implying as it had been Sakuya herself who had been Tenten's Sister when she had joined them. "I'll bet, now come with me."

After walking through the corridor and entering Sakuya's personal office, the older girl says "We have a big problem centered in the oceanic kingdom of Aquinia"

"Aquinia? You mean the Blue Kingdom?" asked Tenten, getting a nod from Sakuya.

"What kind of problem?" asked Hinata.

"We have learned that an ancient Makian called the Scylla, which had been sealed away long ago by a legendary priestess named Tsunami, has been released from the seal and is threatening Aquinia and its people" said Sakuya.

"And its just the two of us? Doesn't a job like this require a larger team, seeing as I recall reading about this creature in the Order's library and the Scylla is suppose to be real big" asked Tenten.

"If the Scylla itself was the target, then yes. But luckily for us, Setsuna's seer power revealed a few helpful things. One, the seal hasn't been completely broken. Though the Scylla is no longer bound to one place, it's ability to move around is limited to the outer islands to the east of Aquinia. Because of that, it currently can't attack Aquinia directly, the most it can do at present is create powerful waves. But the seal is weakening and it could soon break if nothing is done" explained Sakuya.

"And how do we stop it before the seal breaks completely" asked Tenten.

"That is the other thing Setsuna saw. The one who partially broke the seal has a Spike of Circe, which can bind a human's life force with that of a Makian's. Destroy the Spike, then the Scylla won't be able to maintain its existence in our world without feeding or an open Makai gate to latch onto."

"When do we leave then?" asked Tenten.

"As soon as your ready. Head to Wave and charter a boat to take you both there. Once you arrive, locate a man named Katsuhito Masaki and upon meeting him, ask for some blue leaf tea. He is an old friend of our order and saying this will let him know you're with us and he'll help in any way he can" said Sakuya.

"Do we have any leads on who the man with the Spike is?" asked Hinata.

"Setsuna could only see three things about him. He has pale skin, long white hair, and wears glasses. Now get ready...and good luck" said Sakuya.

"Right" reply Hinata and Tenten before exiting the room.

**(Wave harbor – the following morning)**

"All aboard" shouts the man next to the loading ramp, then steps aside to let the small gathering of people board the ship.

As Hinata and Tenten board, Tenten looks at her companion and ask "Nervous?"

Hinata nods, then says "A little bit. This will be the first time I've ever been on a boat. Not to mention the first time I've ever left Shumoa. You?"

"Back when I was a kid, before joining the Order, I experienced a boat ride from my home land to come here to Shumoa. If I remember correctly, we'll be fine...as long as you don't get sea sick that is."

"Your not from Shumoa originally? Where do you come from, Tenten?" asked Hinata.

"Ah..." says Tenten, looking away nervously. "I'll answer that question once you earn your black sash." It was obvious to Hinata that Tenten was avoiding the answer so she decided to drop it, for now.

Once everyone was aboard, the man looks around, then shouts "Anyone else? Last chance." Seeing as no one else was coming towards them, he boards the ship himself and has several deck hands pull the loading ramp up. He then looks to the deck hand up at the entrance to the bridge and shouts "Tell the captain we're good to go."

A second later, a whistle blows as the ship lurches forwards slowly, getting on its way. The man who had been standing by the ramp then approaches the gathered travelers and says "OK, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where the dining hall is and where you'll be staying during this trip."

"Hey, wait up. You forgot about us" comes a shout from the docks.

Everyone turn and move to the side as they see three figures running towards the docks edge, then they do something crazy and jump towards the ship. Normally, this would have been an impossible feet, except the head bands they were wearing showed that they were ninja. The three ninja manage to jump the distance onto the ship, but end up crashing onto the deck.

_'Naruto?'_ thinks Hinata, seeing her friend and crush as he and his teammates pick themselves up.

"Well, that was just peachy. We almost missed the ship because you had to take that last minute power nap, Shikamaru" shouts Ino.

"Me? What about Naruto? He just had to have that last minute ramen binge" retorts Shikamaru.

"I only did that because Ino just had to go buy that special sun tan lotion that also protects her skin from the salty sea air and you know how long she likes to take when shopping" growls Naruto.

Before everyone knows it, the three ninja are at each others throats as they argue with one another and some of the crew and passengers can't help to think how unprofessional, not to mention uncool, this was. "Ahem, ahem, A-HEM" said the crew man, getting their attentions. "I assume you three have your travel passes on you, or you'll have to continue this little debate while swimming home."

The three of them blush in embarrassment when they realize they had been making a seen, and quickly hand their passes over to the man. After verifying them, he says "Now everyone, follow me and we'll get this tour started."

As they all start to walk, Naruto feels a tap on his shoulder and looks back to see some familiar faces. "Hinata, Tenten, what are you two doing here?"

"We were wondering the same thing about you and your friends, Blondie" said Tenten.

"You first" was the reply from Ino.

"Me and Tenten are being sent to Aquinia We are to meet with a man named Katsuhito Masaki who has, past ties with our order, and we're to ask him help us find an old Ama artifact" answered Hinata.

"Me, Shikamaru, and Ino are also heading to Aquinia for some sort of treasure hunt. The old man thinks it'll be educational or something" said Naruto.

"Boy, you must be hating that, huh spiky?" said Tenten.

"This is being counted as a B-rank mission for us, which will go a long way towards us becoming Chunin" explained Shikamaru.

"I guess this means we'll be stuck together for a while, huh Hinata?" asked Naruto.

Hinata blushes and nods. Tenten grins while thinking _'Alright, this trip just got a little more entertaining.'_

Shikamaru yawns, thinking _'At least Hinata will keep Naruto occupied and save me some trouble.'_

_'I'm just glad I'll have some girls to talk to, not just these annoying guys' _was Ino's thoughts, though seeing Naruto and Hinata chatting was making her feel a little annoyed for some reason.

And both Naruto and Hinata's thoughts were basically the same. _'I hope this mission will allow me time to spend with Hinata (Naruto).'_

**(Aquinia – darkened room)**

A young boy with long dark hair enters the room and approaches the figure who was sitting in a chair, reading a thick book. "What have you learned, Rumiya?"

"The targets daily schedule seems pretty fixed. Each morning, she does chores at home, then travels to the markets to buy groceries. She always takes the long way around, I'm guessing she enjoys the walk and looking around. Once she's finished, she returns home and always takes a short cut through an empty alley way. My guess is that this is the best time to strike, sir."

"Good, very good" said the man as he turns the page and keeps reading.

"Sir?" asked Rumiya, wondering if her had made an error somewhere.

"Rumiya, order the men to take up positions along the alley way, unseen of course. As soon as the target gets to the center, they will strike. And make sure they know I want her taken alive. She's of no use to us if she dies" said the man.

"Understood sir. Will there be anything else?" asked Rumiya.

The man doesn't respond and Rumiya quickly departs. Once he was gone, the man pulls out a picture of the target in question and smiles. "Very soon, you and I will meet face to face and you will help me fulfill my plan, heir to Tsunami."


	2. Demon of the Blue Kingdom 2

**B-part start**

As the passengers disembarked from the ship, they marveled at the size of the docks, as well as the number of ships that were currently here. Turning their attentions towards the kingdom itself,it became even more obvious that this island was big, likely having several areas of rich farm land, forest, and maybe even a small village or two along side the central city that was the center of Aquinian life.

After passing through customs, Ino ask "So now what do we do?"

"Look around, I guess" was the reply from Tenten.

"We should ask someone if they know of a place to where we can stay as well as the location of the Masaki shrine for you guys" said Shikamaru; the last part meant for Hinata and Tenten.

"Whoa, that's cool" says Naruto, who had wandered off to the side and was looking out onto the beach that was alongside the docks.

"What is it, Naruto?" asked Hinata as she and the others joined him.

"That" replies Naruto as he points out to the water where several people were actually zipping around above the flowing waves and doing some insane looking stuff.

"I don't know, but it looks dangerous" points out Tenten.

"Not to mention a lot of work" adds Shikamaru, already not liking it.

"A lot of work? Only at first. Dangerous? Only if you're stupid" comes a voice from behind them. They turn around and see a guy wearing a speedo and was really fat, holding a board against his side. "I'm guessing you guys are new here seeing as you obviously have never seen surfing before."

"Surfing?" asked Ino, who was a little disturbed by the gelatinous way the guys body was moving.

"Yeah, its a form of recreation around here; something we do for fun. We swim out onto the water, wait till a good wave comes along, then we ride and have fun. There's more, but you get the idea. And if you're really good, you can use the Flow to make your surfing really gnarly, dudes." And with that, the guy runs off and jumps into the water to join in the fun.

"Flow?" asked Hinata.

"Maybe that's their word for chakra here. Given how chakra interacts with our bodies, calling it Flow would kinda make sense" says Shikamaru.

"Either way, we better getting going" says Tenten. As they walk away, Naruto makes a vow. Before they leave Aquinia, he will give this surfing thing a try.

As they reach the end of the docks, they take a minute to look at their three choices, not really seeing anything that would help them choose between going left, right, or to keep heading straight. "Hey, excuse me a moment" comes a shout, drawing their attentions back behind them again.

A girl, wearing a loose fitting tank top and khakis, comes running up to them and stops. As she tries to catch her breath, they notice she's holding something in her hand; a piece of paper. Once she had regained her breath, she studies Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru closely, then looks at the paper, then back at them again, then back at the paper again and again.

"I think it could be them? But, maybe not" said the girl, who had dark colored skin and bright yellow colored hair that was kept in a pony tail. She then looks back from the direction she had come from and says "Kiyone, what do you think?"

Another woman, wearing a more formal outfit that made it obvious that she was a guard, comes walking up; sighing in exasperation at her colleges idiocy. "Geez Mihoshi, you're impossible. I can't wait till I get that promotion so I can finally be free of you" said the dark haired girl named Kiyone.

Mihoshi gets all teary eyed as she says "Please don't say that, Kiyone. You know I'd be lost without you." Mihoshi then grabs onto Kiyone, afraid that she will disappear if she does not.

"Hey, stop that. You're embarrassing me here" growls Kiyone as she struggles to get Mihoshi off her. "Just let me see the image."

After Mihoshi gives Kiyone the paper, said woman looks at it, then at Naruto and co. "It's them. The symbol on their head bands makes it obvious. If you couldn't tell that, then you really are hopeless."

"I'm sorry Kiyone. I swear I'll try better" cries Mihoshi.

"Enough" says Kiyone, then looks at the Shumoans and says "Sorry about that. My name is Kiyone and I'm first sergeant of the Aquinia dock guard. And this here is Mihoshi, junior sergeant of the dock guard. I take it you five are the ninja we were told was coming?"

"The three of us are" said Ino, pointing to Naruto and Shikamaru. "Those two are from the Order of Ama and are hoping to visit a man named Katsuhito Masaki."

"Are you the one who hired us?" asked Shikamaru.

Kiyone shakes here head, then says "No, we were just asked to deliver something to you." She then pulls out an ornate key and hands it to Shikamaru. "You are to take this key to the Sleepy Lamb inn and present it to the person behind the desk, who will show you to the room you'll be using during your stay here. I believe the man who hired you will meet you there later, if he's not already there waiting."

"And where is this Sleepy Lamb?" asked Naruto.

"Take the central road till you arrive and the plaza; a large fountain will let you know your there. Then take the right path and keep going till you see a sign depicting a sheep jumping over a wooden fence. That's the Sleepy Lamb."

"Thanks for telling us" says Ino.

Kiyone nods, then looks at Mihoshi and says "We better get back to work."

As they walk off, Tenten shouts "Hey, can you tell me where we can find Katsuhito Masaki?"

Mihoshi looks back and says "Follow the guys till you reach the plaza, then take the left all the way to the end, then turn right and follow the road till you see a small building along the road with a shrine further up the path that runs into the mountains." _'Or, was it take a right at the plaza, then a left at the end of the road?'_ Kiyone, obviously, was to focused on other things to have heard the question and here partner's little bumble.

"OK, thanks for the help" shouts Tenten before she and the others begin to walk further into Aquinia.

The five youths continued down the road, marveling and admiring the sights as they moved along. Soon, they arrived at the central plaza and parted ways. "Good luck with your treasure hunt, Naruto" says Hinata as she and Tenten head off.

"And you with...with yours" replies Naruto.

After a few minutes of walking, the sign for the Sleepy Lamb comes into view. "Come on, lets hurry" says Ino, hoping they had a decent shower in the room. All that sea air was making her skin clammy.

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" asked Naruto as he comes to a dead stop.

"Hear what?" asked Shikamaru.

"All I can hear is the sound of people chatting and walking around" says Ino.

Naruto focused, blocking out any needless sound as she channels chakra into his ears to enhance what he was picking up. _"Help, somebody. I'm being attack." _"There's a girl in trouble, not to far away from here" says Naruto before breaking into a run through the cities back alleys.

"Are you sure? I still don't hear nothing" asked Ino.

"It must be his enhanced Jinchurriki senses" points out Shikamaru.

After they cut through a few more sections of back alley's, the sound of a struggle could finally be heard. After one final turn, they arrive on the scene of a young girl, who appeared to be about ten or eleven, that was surrounded by a bunch of guys dressed in dark garments that concealed their faces.

"Why resist us? There's no escaping from this. Just accept defeat and make this easy for all of us" says one of the men as he and the others slowly advance upon the girl.

"Or just stay right there while we deal with this" shouts Naruto as he slams his body against the lead assailant, knocking him off balance.

The man looks back as he steadies himself and says "Looks like we got ourselves a hero here. Boys, kill him. Remember, no witnesses."

The men go to attack Naruto, but they all stop dead. They then catch sight of Shikamaru and see that his shadow was reaching out, merging with their own shadows. Shikamaru grins, saying Shadow Possession jutsu; success."

"My turn" shouts Ino, getting the men the look to their backs. She raises her arms out towards them, then makes a hand sign and says "Mind Destruction jutsu." The men go wide eyed for a second before they collapse to the ground, unmoving. "That was too easy."

"Only because they weren't expecting any resistance, especially from ninja" replies Shikamaru, who walks over and examines them.

Naruto sees the the girl was still a little nervous and says "You OK? Don't worry, we're the good guys."

The girl, who had teal colored hair that was done up in pig tails and small beads encircling the bands that were being used for the pig tails and melon pink eyes, looks back and says "Yeah, I am. But who are you?"

"My names Naruto Uzumaki and I just so happen to be the greatest ninja in all of Shumoa" says Naruto before Ino pops him upside his head.

"In your dreams, maybe. I'm Ino Yaminaka, and don't pay any attention to this guys boasting" says Ino before she leans in close and says in a whisper "He's a little crazy."

"Names Shikamaru Nara. The three of us are ninja from the Senai region of Shumoa, from the village known as Konoha."

The girl's demeanor lightens up as she smiles and cheerfully says "Nice to meet you, my name is Sasami. I've never seen a ninja befo...Oh no, the groceries." Sasami quickly begins gathering the dropped bags and examines the food that had spilled out to see if they could still be used post cleaning.

"Here, let us help you" says Ino as she leans down to help Sasami, then looks back and gives the boys a look that says "Quit standing around like idiots. Get down here and help us."

Once the groceries had been gathered, Sasami says "Thank you for saving me before. But I better get home before anyone starts to worry about me."

"We'll come with you" says Naruto, surprising everyone. "Just in case more of these guys shows up."

"That's a good idea" agrees Ino, getting a nod from Shikamaru.

"Really, you will? Thank you; I'm sure grandfather will thank you when we arrive." Sasami starts to walk away with the three nin following close behind, Naruto and Shikamaru holding the bags and surprised that such a little girl could carry both these bags seeing as they were surprisingly heavy.

Once they had left the alley way, a hooded figure steps out of the shadows and looks towards the direction they had left in. "This wasn't expected, but it saves me some trouble." He then disappears back into the shadows and fades away.

As they enter onto the main road, where their were more people and the chance of being attacked again less likely because of this, Ino ask "Any ideas why those guys were attacking you?"

Sasami shakes her head and says "No, and I've always used that alley way as a short cut in the past. I wonder who they were and what they wanted with me?"

"Don't worry, Sasami, I promise we'll find out who those guys were working for and make sure that no other attacks happen. Believe it" says Naruto.

"Don't get carried away, Naruto. Have you forgotten we already have a mission to do here?" asked Shikamaru.

"What? Are you saying we should just forget about what happened?" shouts Naruto.

"Of course not. But we can't be putting off our primary duty here either" replies Shikamaru.

"So we'll find a way to squeeze in both" suggest Ino.

"Thank you for the offer, but I don't want to be a burden" says Sasami, not wanting to cause them any trouble.

"You wouldn't be a burden seeing as we're offering" replies Naruto, getting a sigh from both Shikamaru and Ino who realized that Naruto wasn't go to take no, or their real mission, as an answer or excuse to not help Sasami out.

After a while of walking, they pass through a gate arch and find themselves entering a large fertile field. As they walk, Sasami explains the full set up of the island and the fact the main city only covered thirty percent of the total area on the island. Before to long, they see a small house along the side of the road which Sasami points out id her destination and just beyond it, a figure was sweeping the dust of the stairs that led to the shrine, higher up along the path that cut from the main road.

"Tenchi, I'm home" shouts Sasami as she speeds up her pace.

The boy named Tenchi, who had short spiky black hair that had a short little pony tail on the back and appeared to be about seventeen years old, looks up and says "Hey Sasami. Give me a second and I'll come help you."

Tenchi then places his broom off to the side, then runs over, noticing the three ninja standing behind Sasami. "Who are you guys?" asked Tenchi.

"These are Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino. They saved me back in Aquinia City when I was attacked on my way home" was Sasami's reply.

"Attacked?" said a surprised and worried Tenchi. He then bends down and places his hands on her shoulders and ask "What happened? Who attacked you? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I had just finished getting the groceries and was walking back home, taking a short cut through the alley's like I always do, when these men appeared and surrounded me. They said they had been sent to escort me somewhere, but they didn't say where, just that I didn't have a choice. I don't know who they are as their faces where covered. And if it hadn't been for my new friends here, I don't know what would have happened" said Sasami.

Tenchi sighs in relief, then hugs Sasami without even realizing it. This action makes Sasami blush, then she hugs him back as Tenchi says "I'm sorry I wasn't there. But I will be, next time."

"I know you will, Tenchi" was Sasami's reply.

Tenchi breaks the hug, but keeps his hands on Sasami's shoulders, making her blush even more noticeable. She then looks away shyly and says "Tenchi, please don't look at me like that..." She then looks back at him and adds "...with bedroom eyes."

Tenchi's cheek flush pink with embarrassment as he lets go of her and backs away, stammering "I'm sorry Sasami. I didn't, I mean...I...you..."

Sasami's reply was to start laughing, hard enough that she finds herself grabbing onto her stomach while her eyes water up. "Your a naughty boy, huh Tenchi? Already thinking about me like that. A girl who's barely twelve."

Tenchi sighs, then says "Ah geez, Sasami. Please don't joke with me like that, OK?"

"OK" said Sasami before she looks back and gives Ino a wink.

_'Ah, I see what's going on here'_ thinks Ino, nodding in a sage like fashion to her thoughts while Naruto and Shikamaru just look at each other and shrug.

"What's going on down here?" comes a voice, making everyone look towards the stairs to the shrine. A man wearing a priest like garb is walking towards them, with gray hair that was combed back with a long pony tail, a neatly trimmed mustache, and glasses.

"Grandpa, Sasami was..." Tenchi starts to says, but the man raises his hand and says "I already heard her say what happened. Why don't we go inside and talk about this further. And I'll be able to properly thank our three guest for their coming to here aid."

As the man enters the house, Tenchi looks at the ninja and says "That's my grandpa, Katsuhito Masaki. Come inside, please."

"I'll go make us some lunch" says Sasami as she runs inside. Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru then follow her with Tenchi bringing up their rear.

**(darkened room)**

The white haired man looked up from the ancient manuscript he was studying carefully to see his student enter the room. "Rumiya, has the girl been captured yet?"

Rumiya shakes his head, then says "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news sir, but the men you sent to capture Sasami have failed."

"Explain" demands the man, a hint of anger in his voice. "Was it the Masaki boy?"

"No sir. It appears her rescuers were a group of ninja that hail from Shumoa. They took your men by surprise and had little difficulty in defeating them" replied Rumiya.

"Shumoan ninja? Why would they be here?" wondered the man as he pondered this unexpected turn.

"I've already done some checking and I have determined that someone hired them to find the Spike of Circe, sir" said Rumiya.

"Do they know about the Scylla or my plans for Sasami?" asked the man.

Rumiya shakes his head, saying "I doubt it seeing as the three ninja in question are around the same age as me; maybe a few years older. If their leaders knew of the Scylla, the surely would have sent older, more experienced shinobi in their place. As for Sasami? At the moment, they have no reason to believe it was nothing more than some random attack."

The man nods as he thinks about this. "All the same, I want these outsiders watched. If they get a little to close for comfort; become a threat to my plan. I want them eliminated."

"Yes sir. And what about Sasami? Should I send another team after her?" asked Rumiya.

The man gets up and walks towards the door, stopping next to Rumiya and says "No, relying on hired mercenaries from the islands was a mistake on my part for this. We'll leave her be for today as we still have a few days to wait till that day arrives. And when the time does come, I will capture her myself."

Rumiya nods, then exits the room to go tend to his duties. The man walks over to a table and grabs a cup and a large jar filled with tea, then exits his room and makes his way down the long corridor. He is soon standing outside a large door with two guards blocking his way. "I am here to bring his majesty his afternoon tea."

The guards nod as they step aside and allow the man entry into the king's bedroom. As the man approaches the bed, the figure laying in the bed opens his eyes and smiles, saying "Running late today, aren't we Kagato?"

Kagato smiles as he places the cup on the table, then pours the tea from the jar into the cup. "My apologies, your majesty. I've been busy doing research on what methods we could employ to bring this matter of the Scylla's revival to an end."

"That's alright. With any luck, I'll have gotten over this blasted cold within a day or two and I'll be able to do more to help my people. So what have you...thank you" says the king as Kagato hands him the cup. "What have you learned so far?"

"Just two things. First, the Scylla can't travel far from the seal, indicating that the seal is still active in some fashion. The other is that not just anyone can break it. Only people possessing the same kind of power as the one who created the seal could have breached it" said Kagato. While the part about the seal still being some what active and the Scylla being restricted in its movements was true, the part about only certain people could break the seal was a lie.

"Do we have any ideas on who could have done this then and why?" asked the king.

Kagato shakes his head, then says "No, but I swear to you I will sir. Now, better drink your tea before it gets cold."

"Ah yes, good idea" said the king as he drinks the cup. As he does this, he fails to notice Kagato's smile. As soon as he swallows the liquid, the king eyes get a dazed look and Kagato could see a mist like glow coming from his pupils. It was a sign that the mind control potion was starting to take effect. Just another few days and the king would do anything he said. And if things continue as they had, then having the king under his complete control will make things much easier for him.

"Did the tea taste good, sir?" asked Kagato.

"Yes...but I feel a little...strange" replied the king in a trance like state.

"It must be your cold sir. Here, have another tea" offered Kagato while pouring more into the cup. He then hands it to the king and says "Trust me, this will make everything better."

**(Masaki house hold)**

While Sasami had been preparing lunch and tea for Tenchi, his grandfather, and the three ninja, Naruto and the gang had decided to fill Tenchi and Katsuhito in on their mission and other things about Shumoa and their lives as ninja.

Once the story was done, Katsuhito leans back a little and places a hand against his chin as he thinks about this. "So, you were given a mission to find this Spike of Circe. That explains what is going on then."

"Going on? What do you mean, sir?" asked Shikamaru.

Katsuhito had a feeling that who ever had sent the mission request obviously had kept the threat of the Scylla quiet and though he wanted to tell them about it, he decides to stay quiet for now; to give the man who hired them a chance to tell them in person when they meet with his later. "Nothing, just some random gibberish from a some what senile old man."

Tenchi looks at his grandfather, and wonders why he didn't say anything about the Scylla? But he knew that there was a reason and he would respect his choice and stay silent as well.

"Do you know anything about it, sir?" asked Ino just as Sasami enters the room.

"Only as much as the next person" replies Katsuhito while Sasami sets their food and drink down on the table, then takes a seat next to Tenchi. "Tenchi, once we've finished with lunch, I'd like for you to take our friends here to see Washu. Maybe she has something that can help them with their search."

"What? You want me to go to Washu's?" asked a shocked Tenchi.

"Huh? Is there something about this Washu person that makes her dangerous?" asked Naruto.

"Miss Washu is the head of the Royal Academy. She's also a teacher there as well. Both me and Tenchi attend classes there, though we're in summer vacation right now. Miss Washu has an scary interest in Tenchi, though. She keeps asking him to help her with her research; to be her guinea pig" explains Sasami.

"Please Tenchi. I'd go myself, but with my bad back and all..." says Katsuhito.

"Admit it grandpa, you're just as afraid of her as I am" says Tenchi, making Katsuhito look away in embarrassment. Tenchi sighs, then says "I guess I'll have to then. Oh man..."

"Don't worry Tenchi, I'll come along and protect you" says Sasami while patting his back lovingly.

"Good; now that that has been settled, least eat this delicious food Sasami prepared for us" says Katsuhito as he starts to chow down with the rest following his lead.

**(with Hinata and Tenten)**

"Damn that ditzy bubble headed idiot" growled Tenten as she stomped the ground with every step, grinding her teeth as she seethed in anger. "I swear, when I see her again...POW, she's history" shouts Tenten as she sends her fist thrusting into the empty air before her.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at seeing Tenten act like this, not that she didn't blame her. After all, Mihoshi's directions had been less than helpful and they had found themselves lost and wandering around for what felt like hours. Tenten turns on her and shouts "It's not funny, Hinata."

"What's with all the racket out here?" comes a voice from a newly opened door belonging to a large mansion. Hinata and Tenten turn to see a girl of sixteen stepping out and approaching them. She was wearing robes of nobility that were a light velvet color and she had purple hair done up with two long pony tails.

"I'll ask again; what makes you shout so loud?" asked the girl again.

"It's because of that damn blonde haired dock guard who gave us bad directions. I swear that when I see her again, I'll..." growls Tenten, feeling another rage fest coming on.

"Oh, you must have met Mihoshi then. That woman; sometimes I wonder if she has her head screwed on right or not" said the girl.

"You know her?" asked Hinata.

"Unfortunately. But in her defense, she actually is rather smart. As hard as that is to believe, I've seen her intellect in action. It's sad to say that she rarely uses her true potential unless its an absolute necessity. Anyways, what was it you two were looking for when she gave you those bad directions?" asked the girl.

"We were on our way to the Masaki house" said Tenten.

"Oh, you have business with lord Tenchi then?" asked the girl.

"Who? No, with a man named Katsuhito" replied Tenten.

"Ah, Tenchi's grandfather" said the girl. She then points down the road and says "Return to the fountain at the center of town and take the path that leads east, then take the north road till it leads you out of the city. You should see the Masaki household shortly there after" said the girl.

"Lady Ayeka, we need to start your piano lessons" comes a voice from within the house.

"Yes, coming" replies Ayeka, looking back.

"I had a feeling that was the correct path. Thanks for telling us though" said Tenten.

"Before you leave, a personal request if I may" asked Ayeka.

"What is it?" asked Hinata.

"When you arrive at the Masaki home, can you avoid falling in love with lord Tenchi, lord Katsuhito's grandson. I...it would make things easier for me to not gain more rivals for his affections" asked Ayeka.

Tenten grins, then says "Not to worry about it. I'm not interested in getting a guy at this time and my Sister her already has one." Hinata blushes at that last part.

"Oh, I see" said Ayeka before turning around and quietly adding "That's good to hear" before walking back into her home.

Hinata and Tenten looks at each other and smile at one another before walking off, hoping they were heading in the right direction this time.

**(Washu's place)**

"Oh boy, I can't believe I'm doing this" said Tenchi as he knocks on Washu's front door.

"I guess Tenchi really is afraid of this Washu person, huh?" asked Ino to Sasami.

Sasami grins and replies "Just wait till you meet her. You'll understand then."

"Who is it?" asked a surprisingly young sounding voice. The door opens and to the three ninja's surprise, a girl who looked to be about the same age as Sasami stepped out. She had bright red hair that was not only really spiky, but rose up high over her head.

Her eyes light up when she sees Tenchi and before anyone could blink, she leaning up against him, saying "Ah, Tenchi, so you finally came to me. Are you ready to help me with my research then?"

"Uh, Washu, that's not why I'm..." Tenchi starts to say, but is unable to fins as Washu takes him by the hand and drags him into her home.

"Well, I better go save him" sighs Sasami as she follows them inside with Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru following her. Once inside, they are surprised to see the room was a complete mess, if not an outright disaster area. Everywhere you look, all that could be seen were books and pieces of paper littering the floor. Carefully moving forward, they're able to make their way to the back room, where they find Tenchi had been stripped down to his underwear and was now strapped into a table while Washu was next to him, doing something with an odd looking device.

"Washu, please. I didn't come here for this" pleads Tenchi, afraid of what she was going to do.

"Shush, shush, shush. I'll be done...eventually" replies Washu as she presses a few buttons before some scary looking devices suddenly come into view that makes Tenchi's eyes go wide with shock and horror. "Now try not to squirm to much, Tenchi. Otherwise, this could really hurt you."

"I see what you mean now" said Ino to Sasami, who speaks out and says "Miss Washu."

Washu looks at her and says "Huh? Why hello there, Sasami. When did you get here?"

"I arrived here with Tenchi and these three" said Sasami, looking back at the ninja. She then looks back at Washu and says "We wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" asked Washu.

A few minutes, some explanations, and getting Tenchi freed from the table, the group is setting in Washu's guest room, which was only half as messy as the living room. "I see, so you wanted to see if I could help you locate this Spike of Circe then, is that right?"

The three ninja nod and Washu gives this some thought. Based on what they had told her, it was obvious that they knew nothing about the Scylla issue. Why that was confused her, so she decides to ask "Tell me, what do you know about the Spike's Power?"

"Not much, actually" said Naruto. "Why, is there something about it we should know?"

Washu wave a hand and says "Never you mind about that. For now, you should focus on the task at hand. And I'll help you there."

"You will? Thank you" says a grateful Ino.

"Now just a moment. Before you get to the thanks, let me tell you that I don't have an item that can find it now. But I can build one for you" said Washu.

"How long will that take?" asked Shikamaru.

"If I start now, then it'll be done the day after tomorrow. And even then, I can't guarantee that it will work. So save the thanks till after the fact" said Washu as she gets up. "Once I've finished, I'll deliver it to the Masaki house hold. Now, if you excuse me, I better get to work." And with that, Washu heads back into her lab and closes the door behind her.

Once the group had seen themselves out and were back on the street, Tenchi looks at the ninja and says "So, what's the plan now?"

"We'll head over to the Sleepy Lamb inn and check in. With any luck, our contact will be there waiting and he'll finally give us the full explanation behind this mission" said Ino.

"Well good luck with that. If you guys need anything, just let us know" said Tenchi. "Should I bring Washu's device over to you guys when it finished?"

"Naw, we'll swing by and pick it up" said Naruto.

"Well, then I guess we'll see each other again. Good luck, guys" says Sasami as she and Tenchi begin their walk home, looking back and waving goodbye as they walk away. The ninja wave back before heading on their way.

They soon arrive at the Sleepy Lamb and check in. The then make their way to their room and find a surprise waiting for them. There was only one bed for the three of them to share and it was a rather small bed too. Obviously, the client had been cheap with the inn reservations.

"OK boys, there's just one bed and three of us" said Ino as she looks at them.

"So, what? We draw straws or something?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, you and Shikamaru can draw straws. I'll take the bed and you two can decide which side of the floor you'll be sleeping on" says Ino before hopping onto the bed and getting comfy.

"Hey, that's no fair" shouts Naruto, getting a raspberry from Ino in return.

Shikamaru sighs, then his eyes fall onto the piece of paper laying on the table. He walks over and picks it up, then says "Hey guys, our client left us a message."

As Naruto and Ino gather around him, Shikamaru reads the message left for them. "To the ninja of Shumoa. My apologies for not meeting you in person, both at the docks or here. But there are some...complications that have arisen that require my attention. But I do hope to meet you in person soon. Until, I have already made arrangements for your mission. In the morning, head back to the docks and go to pier 9. There will be a boat waiting for you that will take you to the first three islands on my list of possible locations for the Spike. Remember to keep on your guard as these islands could have hidden dangers on them. Signed, mysteRious."

"Well, this keeps getting nothing" says Naruto.

"No kidding" agreed Ino. "Is it just me, or does something smell fishy here?"

"It's not just you; there is something fishy going on here" said Shikamaru. "When we were at the Masaki house and later at Washu's, something was telling me that they weren't telling use everything. And I've heard people speaking about something; some terror that has returned from the history books."

"You think the guy who requested our aid was lying?" asked Naruto.

"Maybe. But I think it's safe to say that there's more going on here than we know of" said Shikamaru.

"So, what do we do then?" asked Ino.

"Nothing, for now. We'll go on the mission tomorrow as the client requested. Once we get back and if the client hasn't shown his face yet, then we'll head back the Masaki house and have Tenchi, Sasami, and Katsuhito tell us what they know" said Shikamaru, getting a nod of agreement from Naruto and Ino.


	3. Demon of the Blue Kingdom 3

**C-part start**

"Grandpa, we're home" calls out Tenchi as he and Sasami enter the house. Their eyes immediately fall upon the two girls sitting at the table with Katsuhito, eating some lunch. "Who are they?"

"Priestesses from the Order of Ama, located on Shumoa" replied Katsuhito before sipping on some tea.

"Mame's Memten" says Tenten, to busy stuffing her face with food as all the walking had left her famished to wait till swallowing before responding. "My name is Hinata and she's Tenten" said Hinata, being way more curtious with her greeting.

"These are my grandson, Tenchi, and my adopted granddaughter, Sasami" said Katsuhito.

"Nice to meet you" said Sasami as she bows.

"Ditto" said Tenchi. "You said you were from Shumoa? Then you must be friends with the ninja then?"

"They were...hack" shouts Tenten, who starts choking on her food mid sentence. Hinata quickly starts patting her on the back while Katsuhito offers her some tea, which she gulps down quickly. "Naruto was here?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah, they saved Sasami from some trouble makers in town and escorted her home" said Tenchi.

"Why have you come to Aquinia, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Sasami.

"Orders" gagged out Tenten who then took a deep breath. "The head of our order asked us to seek out Mister Masaki here and request...his assistance with locating an ancient relic."

"They'll be staying here with us till their work has been concluded" Katsuhito. He then gets up and says "If you two will follow me, I will show you to our shrines library and help you get started with your work. Tenchi, Sasami, take care of things here until I get back."

Once they were gone, Tenchi prepares to head out to the field to work with their crops when Sasami ask "Do you think this ancient relic is the Spike that our ninja friends are looking for?"

"Could be. We'll ask them later" said Tenchi as he heads out to start his work and Sasami gets started with her usual house chores.

"What are your plans, if you don't mind me asking?" questioned Katsuhito as they headed towards the stairs that led to the shrine.

"For now, we'll do research on this Scylla, your kingdom, and anything else that can help us. Once night falls, we'll begin our search with the darkness of night as our cloak" replies Tenten who decides to ask a question that she herself had.

"So tell me; just what is your connection with our Order, anyways?" asked Tenten as they walked up the long flight of stone steps towards the shrine.

"A good friend of mine was a member of the order. Back in those days, the need for secrecy wasn't as great as it is now" said Katsuhito.

"Who was she?" asked Hinata.

Katsuhito smiles and says "Amarillo herself."

Tenten comes to a dead stop and shouts "Say what? Are you telling me that YOU know Amarillo, the legendary Amarillo, founder of our order, and confidant of the Sage of the Six Paths?"

"Oh, you mean Musashi. Is all that is remembered about him is the title, not the name? That would really bum him out to know that" asked Katsuhito, still looking away from them.

"Forgive me, sir. But how old are you?" asked Hinata. If he was telling them the truth, then he looked good for his age.

Katsuhito turns around and sticks his tongue out at them and says "Just kidding."

Hinata and Tenten face plant, then Tenten gets up in his face and shouts "You're really pushing it, old man."

Katsuhito scratches the back of his head while saying "Sorry, sorry. Truth is that I did know a girl who was in the order. A situation came up; a situation that needed me to aid the order. So, they decided to break tradition and reveal their secret to me. The rest is history as they say."

"That's sounds more plausible" says Tenten, though she was still a little irritated. As they continue their walk, Katsuhito says "I've done some research into my family history over the years and I found that an ancestor of mine did indeed know Amarillo and the Sage of the Six Paths."

"And who was he?" asked Hinata.

Katsuhito doesn't reply till the had reached the entrance to the shrine. He looks back and says "Yosho."

**(the next morning)**

The Konoha nin had woken earlyand Naruto had freaked out to find Ino sleeping next to him on the floor. This, of course, had led to an interesting moment when Ino had woken up and assumed Naruto had tried something. They had made their way to the docks, and ended up waiting till around nine before the man who owned the boat that would be carting them around the islands finally showed up. He was small in height, around the same as Washu; having the body of a child despite the appearance of a man in his sixties, what with his long white hair and bushy beard that covered much of his face.

The first island they had visited had little in the way to talk about. The only thing of interest had been a cave that led underground. The ninja didn't need long to deduce that the Spike wouldn't be here though that likely had to do with the massive sized Seacroc that was using the cave as a home, seeing as it chased them clear back to the boat, hoping to get a meal.

Now, the ship was on its way to the next island. "So, just how many islands will we hit today?" asked Naruto as he walks up to Shikamaru, who was looking over a sea chart provided by the captain.

"Let's see" said Shikamaru as he places a bead on the map. "We're here and we just left this island. If we remain on course, we should have enough time to check out these three islands before we'd have to call it a day." Shikamaru then places three more beads on the map, showing which island they will be checking. "Unless we get lucky and find it today, I'm guessing we'll need about five days to search them all. Say, where's Ino?"

"Good question" says Naruto as he looks around. "I haven't seen here since we left the last island. Maybe she went below deck?"

Just then, they here the sound of foot steps and Ino emerges on deck, making Naruto and Shikamaru blush at what they were seeing. Ino had stripped off her clothes and was now wearing a string bikini and was holding a folding chair with her left hand and a bottle with her right.

"Ino, what they heck are you doing?" shouts Naruto.

"Taking advantage of a great opportunity to get myself a sun tan. What does it look like?" replied Ino as she sets the folding chair up.

"In case you forgot Ino; we're on an important mission here. We don't have time for any leisure, especially sun tanning" says Shikamaru.

"Hey captain, how long till we make the next island?" shouts Ino up at the area above Naruto and Shikamaru where the ship controls were.

"About an hour or so, depending on the waves" replies the captain.

Ino looks back at the boys, then says "Plenty of time." She then squirts some sun tan lotion onto her hands and starts rubbing herself down, making Naruto and Shikamaru blush even more as they watch and wonder if she was doing it the way she was on purpose; slow and almost sensual like. Ino then lays on her stomach, then says "OK Naruto, you're up."

"Huh?" replies Naruto, looking at Shikamaru who just sighs as he returns to looking at the map.

"Naruto, get your butt over here and lube up my back. NOW" shouts Ino.

As Naruto walks over, he ask "Why me and not Shikamaru?"

"Because he's busy navigating, now get with the rubbing me down part" says Ino before she reaches back as best she can and undoes her bikini string.

"Ino, what are you doing?" asked Naruto, his face having turn beet red.

"No tan lines" was her reply.

Naruto grumbles something before slapping some lotion onto his hands, then starts rubbing it onto Ino's back. "Make sure you're get everywhere, Naruto" said Ino, moaning a little as Naruto did his job. "Ah, I feel like I'm in heaven."

While all this was going on, no one notices that the ship was changing course, slowly heading in a new direction. _'It's time they learned the truth' _thinks the captain as they head to their new destination.

About fifty minutes later, Ino had changed positions to tanning her front while Naruto and Shikamaru had joined the captain on the control deck. But they were beginning to think something was off. "Captain, shouldn't we be seeing the island by now?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, we should" said the captain. "The waves haven't been that strong to force a delay on us. Brainy kid, could you go check the chart for me?"

"Sure" said Shikamaru as he jumps down onto the deck with Naruto right behind him.

"Are we there yet?" asked Ino, feeling the boat come to a stop. "Darn, and I was just getting comfortable too."

"Captain, if my calculations are correct, we should be docking with the island now" said Shikamaru.

"That's strange. Where could it be?" said the captain aloud, though he already knew the truth. If his guess was correct, the beast will make its presence known soon. He just hope the wards he had placed under the boat would be strong enough to keep the beast from attacking. Otherwise, this was going to be a really short trip for them all.

A sudden feeling rushes through Naruto, making him walk over to the side and look out over the ocean. Immediately after that, a low moaning sound is heard under the waves. "What was that?" asked Ino as she sits up.

"It's coming" says Naruto in an almost trance like state.

"Naruto, what are you...?" Before Shikamaru could finish the water off the boat suddenly erupts skyward as strong waves start slamming into the boat.

"Everyone, grab onto something" shouts the captain as he grabs onto the helm.

Ino jumps onto her feet and looks to the captain, asking "What's going on? What was that?"

"Ino..." says Shikamaru as he blushes.

"What?" asked Ino. She sees the captain was also blushing and she looks at Naruto who's face was even redder than it had been when she had made him lube her up. "What's wrong with you guys?"

Naruto grins just slightly as he looks away, just a little, and scratches his chin and says "Ino, your bikini top...you forgot that it was untied..."

Ino looks down and becomes red with embarrassment when she notices that Naruto was right. Her chest was full exposed for all to see. Ino screams as she scoops up her top from the deck, then shouts "PERVERTS" as she turns away from them and ties it back on.

Just then, another powerful set of waves followed by the ocean burst skyward again. But this time, it isn't just water that was shooting out, it was a massive object; a tail. "What is that?" cries Ino as the tail comes crashing down very, very close to the ship, making the small vessel rock horribly.

"Naruto" shouts Ino, seeing him get thrown overboard.

As Naruto sinks beneath the waves, his eyes open and an see the full visage of the beast just below him. He knows the creature sees him as well and he feels its mind linking with his. And then, the beast turns and swims away; then he finds himself returning to the surface.

After throwing an inter-tube out and hauling Naruto back on board, Naruto looks at his friends and says "We have a problem. A very big problem."

"What was it, Naruto?" asked Ino. "A whale?"

Naruto shakes his head, then says "No, it was some sort of massive Makian. It looked like an uber sized kimodo dragon...and it's mad."

Shikamaru looks at the captain and ask "Do you know what that is?"

"The Scylla; the Makian that was sealed away long ago after it attacked our blue kingdom. What, you mean you didn't know about it?" asked the captain, getting a no reply from the ninja. "Sorry, but we need to return to port so I can check the ship for damage."

As she ship began the trip home, Ino looks at Shikamaru and ask "Do you think our contact knew about this Scylla creature?"

"I have no doubt about it. He did and he didn't tell us" replied Shikamaru.

"But why?" asked Ino.

"I don't know, but we need to find our client and find out. And not just him, but I want to head to the Masaki home and see if they knew and if so, why they didn't say anything either" said Shikamaru.

"There's more, guys" says Naruto, getting their attention. "That Scylla thing knew about me; about me being the Jinchurriki for the Kyubi. It called out to me and I felt its mind."

"Did you learn anything?" asked Ino.

"Just that it wants to destroy Aquinia. And get revenge against the one who sealed it away" replied Naruto. "And if what I sensed was right, the beast thinks the sealer is still alive, despite the centuries of confinement. Either way, we're in trouble here."

Once the ship had return to port, the ninja bid their captain farewell and began their walk to the Masaki household. But as soon as they got to the dock entrance, a shadow fell over them for a split second before Naruto feels something hitting the back of his head.

"Ow, that hurt" shouts Naruto as he reaches back and grabs to object. "Huh, a letter?"

"Let me see" said Ino who grabbed it from him and opened it up. "Ninja of Konoha, you know the truth now. Let's get the obvious out of the way. Yes, I lied before when I sent the request" read Ino.

"That must have been our contact" says Naruto as he starts to run forward. "Let's go after him."

Shikamaru stops him, saying "Don't bother. He's probably already out of sight by now. Naruto create a Shadow Clone and have it head back and check on our captain."

"Why?" asked Naruto.

"Just a hunch" replied Shikamaru. Though still confused. Naruto does what he's asked.

"There's more to the message, guys" said Ino, getting their attention back on her once the clone had left. "The search for the Spike of Circe was true and we do need to find it as that is how the Scylla is being kept stable in our world without an open Makai Gate. As for why I didn't say as much with my original request? It was out of fear that you wouldn't help seeing as this wasn't Senai region or the Shumoa continent for that matter. I promise we'll meet face to face soon. Until then, I beg you to not abandon us. That's all of it guys; so what now?"

"This mission has gone beyond our ability to do it ourselves. But, as Naruto would say, we just can't leave these people to be attacked or destroyed either. So, we stay and continue on as best we can. We'll find this Spike and hopefully deal with this Scylla by destroying it if possible" said Shikamaru before pulling out the paper that the Hokage had given him. Shikamaru then writes down a progress report on it, then sends chakra into it to make it transform into a bird which flies off. "At least they'll know about what's happened here back home and send some back up."

"Guys, our captains gone. Furthermore, no one else around says they know him either" said Naruto, receiving the mental message from the dispersed clone.

"I thought so. So our captain was likely our client in desquise. If so, then why not tell us the truth while on the boat?" wondered Shikamaru aloud.

"I thought his appearance looked a little wonky" said Ino. "So, what now?"

"Lets head to the Masaki house as planned. We'll wait there for Washu to deliver the Spike detection device, then we'll hunt it down" said Shikamaru before the three ninja break into a run and head to their destination.

As the message bird flies over the city, about to pass onto the ocean, a figure reaches up and grabs it from out of the skies. "Sorry, but no help will come for you" said Kagato as he crushes the bird with his hand. He smiles as he realizes that his powers had finally started to return. He heads back, ready to make his next attempt at taking Sasami for his plan.

**(Masaki home)**

"Hey guys, did your search have any luck?" asked Tenchi as he saw the three ninja walking up to the house. By now, the sun had started to set for the day.

"Not exactly" said Naruto.

"Can we come inside and speak with your grandpa? There's something we need to discuss" asked Shikamaru.

"Grandpa? He's up at the shrine with the Ama priestesses. You guys go on in and take a seat while I go get him" said Tenchi as he runs towards the shrine.

As they enter the house, Sasami runs into the room and says "Welcome back."

"Hope we aren't intruding" replied Ino.

Sasami shakes her head, then says "I was just about to start dinner. Are you guys planning on staying for a while?"

"At least until we have a chance to talk with Tenchi's grandpa" said Naruto.

"Well then, I'll cook some food for you three too. And don't worry about it being any trouble; I don't mind at all" said Sasami, guessing at their likely reply. She then runs back into the kitchen to get started while the three ninja sit at the table. They did consider asking Sasami if she wanted any help, but they had a feeling that she wouldn't let them as that would be considered rude. So they sat there till the door opened and Tenchi entered followed by Katsuhito, Hinata, and Tenten.

"Hey Hinata, are you and Tenten's work coming along OK?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, its going well" said Hinata, her cheeks a bright pink with seeing Naruto. Tenten takes the opportunity to force Hinata into sitting next to Naruto, which makes Hinata really shy, yet happy none the less.

"Tenchi said you wanted to talk with me. I have a good idea on what it is you want to talk about" said Katsuhito.

"Did you know about the Makian that's swimming out around your neighboring islands?" asked Shikamaru.

Katsuhito nods, then says "Yes, I was. It was released by someone over a week ago, though it luckily hasn't been able to attack the main island directly yet, due to the seal still being somewhat active. The king has been trying to keep it quiet though, in order to keep the populace from panicking."

"So not everyone knows about it? How do you know about it then?" asked Ino.

"It's because of my connection with the royal family. The Masaki have had a long standing relationship with the royal family of Aquinia. It goes back to our ancestor, Yosho, who helped defend Aquinia from the Scylla when it originally attacked" explained Katsuhito.

"And the king contacted you to see if you could help in figuring out what happened?" asked Tenten, wanting to keep the illusion that she and Hinata were learning of this right here and now as well and not have already known this for a while.

Katsuhito nods again, then says "He wanted me to determine how the seal could have been broken. After doing some research, I concluded that someone had to have broken it as the seal used by Tsunami to lock it away draws its power from the planet's Flow, thus ensuring that it would never weaken and fail."

"But why didn't you tell us about the Scylla when we were first here?" asked Naruto.

"I assumed the one who had hired you had chosen to not tell you about it himself for a good reason and I decided to respect that decision and stay quiet at the time. But I will acknowledge that that choice was a mistake and for that, I am sorry" said Katsuhito who bows down to them.

"Well, not knowing didn't get us killed, so don't worry about it" said Shikamaru. "By the way, do you know anything about the Spike of Circe; something you can tell us now seeing as we now know about the Scylla?"

"Only that the Spike is the reason why the beast is still out there. But the question is, where did the one who broke the seal get it from?" wondered Katsuhito.

"Dinner's ready" says Sasami from the kitchen.

"I'll help her bring it out" said Hinata as she gets up and runs into the kitchen. A few minutes later, the group is eating together and Hinata notices that Sasami, who is sitting next to Tenchi, is blushing a lot and seems to be really happy, just as Sasami notices the same thing going on with Hinata towards Naruto.

**(Kagato's chambers)**

"Sir?" asked Rumiya as he enters the room, finding it empty.

Figuring that Kagato was in his secret chambers, he walks over behind the desk and triggers the hidden door to open. Rumiya then enters the passage and walks down the like flight of stairs till in enters another series of passages. After weaving his way through several of them, he enters the main chamber where his eyes fall onto the Spike of Circe, spinning slowly at the center of the room.

"What have you to report, Rumiya?" comes Kagato's voice from another room, off to the side.

Rumiya enters the room and sees Kagato standing by a table that had something laying upon it. As he draws closer, he realizes what it was he was seeing. "A golem, sir?"

"Correct. My powers have finally started to return though it will still take another day or two before I'm back to full strength. But I've regained enough to empower this golem and control it" replied Kagato as he worked the last detail needed to make his golem ready.

"To capture Sasami, sir?" asked Rumiya.

"I've decided that a golem I'm in control of will be a better choice in obtaining her" said Kagato.

"But if your powers have started to return, why not go yourself?" asked Rumiya.

"Because I'm not at full power. And even I would be a fool to take on Katsuhito with anything less than full power. The risk will be to great. The golem is the safer route and if it fails, then I have my trump card to play, which is fool proof. Now report" said Kagato.

Rumiya wondered if drugging the king over the last week was part of his trump card. "The ninja from Shumoa have learned of the Scylla. More than likely, they've put two and two together and figured out that their mission to find the Spike is connected to the Scylla. Currently, they are at the Masaki home, though I don't know why. I can say that your plan for Sasami is still unknown to anyone but us."

"Then if this fails, I doubt that will remain to be so. No matter, something important will still come from this, success or failure aside" said Kagato before he looks back at his golem and starts his chanting, his body aglow with Flow for a second before the energy shoots into the golem, causing it to turn into a shadowy version of Kagato, but not looking enough like him so that anyone who saw it would recognize him in it.

As the golem gets off the table, Kagato and Rumiya return to the main room and Kagato sits on the throne in the back of the room which had a massive pipe organ behind it. "Sir, if there is nothing else, I'll turn in for the night."

Kagato gives his student leave, then closes his eyes before uttering a final word. The eyes of a golem light up, then Kagato checks to make sure he had full control over it. Satisfied, the golem then moves with incredible speed through the passage back up into Kagato's royal chambers where it launches itself into the night, heading right for the Masaki home and Sasami.

By this time, dinner had ended and Katsuhito had convinced his guest to join him for a drink. Well, Tenten had readily agreed, out of curiosity, and had somehow managed to get Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru to drink with her. And Katsuhito had tricked Tenchi into drinking as well. Currently, they were pretty out of it, making a lot of noise while Hinata and Sasami had avoided this trouble by being the one who were cleaning the dishes together.

"It's really loud in there" comments Hinata as she dry's the plate Sasami just handed her.

"You should hear it when miss Washu, her daughter Ryoko, and miss Ayeka come around" joked Sasami. "Compared to them, this is rather quiet."

After a few moments of silence between them, Hinata decided to ask Sasami a question she had wanted to ask her. "So, do you like Tenchi?"

Hinata gets her answer right away as Sasami drops the plate she had just pulled from the sink back into it. "Well, of course I like him. He's a nice guy and my best friend" was her reply.

"I meant do you LIKE him?" asked Hinata, putting the emphasis on the like.

Sasami's whole face goes red as she averts her gaze. She then smiles shyly and says "I do, I really do. Tenchi was the one who found me, rescued me when I was little and gave me a place to stay with him and his grandfather."

"What do you mean, found you?" asked Hinata.

"He found me when I was three years old, washed up on the beach one morning after a terrible storm, I couldn't remember where I came from or how I got here, but Tenchi was still there none the less. That's why I work so hard and do some much here; it's my way of repaying him for all that he's done for me" said Sasami. "You like Naruto, huh?"

Now it was Hinata's turn to become shy as her own face goes red. "Like Tenchi saved you, Naruto saved me too. I came from a clan and was being sent to marry a man I had never met before. Things happened and Naruto rescued me and gave me a chance to become more than I ever thought I could be. And I hope a day will come when I can repay him for all he's done for me. And, he means everything to me; my most important person."

"Then lets make a pledge to one another" said Sasami. "We'll both work hard and never give up for the guys we like and we'll always be with them and walk by their sides, forever."

Hinata nods as they lock their fingers together, making a heart shape, then saying "Love."

Just then, the wall behind Sasami explodes inward, knocking her and Hinata to the ground. A second later, Sasami screams as something grabs her. She struggles to free herself, but then finds herself becoming light headed before she falls asleep. The attackers then places her under an arm and turns to leave. "Stop" shouts Hinata as she charges the shadowy creature, her Slayer battle claws having revealed themselves from under the sleeves of her priestess garb.

She tries to swipe at it, but the shadow leaps over her attack, then round house kicks her; the blow sending her flying through a window. "Sasami" shouts Tenchi as he and the others come running into the room. The shadow waste no time as it turns and rushes out of the house.

As the shadow Kagato races across the ground, heading fast towards the city, the sound of sunning behind him doesn't escape his attention. Looking back, he sees Tenchi coming up on him. "Give her back" shouts Tenchi as he lunges at the Golem.

The golem jerks to the write, then jumps into the air while spinning around, firing a ball of dark Flow at Tenchi, who is unable to dodge clear in time. The attack slams into him, blowing him back. As the golem turns back to looking on the path, Tenten appears before him and rushes at him with her twin daggers in hand. The golem jumps again, this time over her and fires another blast of dark Flow directly over her, sending her slamming hard into the ground.

"Not so fast jerk. Shadow Clone jutsu" shouts Naruto as a wave of shadow clones erupt from his shadow and surround the golem, who responds by going into a spin while releasing a Flow whip that lashes out and takes out the clones and send the real Naruto flying back into a tree.

"My turn" says Shikamaru as he comes in with a kunai in hand, unable to use his Shadow Possession jutsu due to the lack of a light source to cast his shadow with effectively. As the golem prepares to counter, Ino comes in from behind and uses her Ice Cream Headache attack. But the golem feels it coming and dodges down so the attack pass's it and hits Shikamaru instead. The golem then jumps back and uses its free hand to punch Ino hard in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. The golem then returns to its forward rush to the city.

_'Damn, I've got no choice' _thinks Naruto as he begins to draw on the power within him.

The golem allows itself to look back one last time as the gate to the city comes into view. Seeing know one made Kagato smile from his secret chamber. Once inside the city, his victory would be assured. As the golem looks back to its front, it sees a flash or red/orange light and then Kagato's connection is lost as Naruto sends the golem's head off with a well places swipe of his chakra covered hand.

"Sasami" shouts Tenchi as he comes running up and grabbing her from the golem's arm before it can collapses; and failing to notice Naruto being covered in chakra which was already fading away.

As Tenchi runs a finger through her hair, Sasami's eyes open. "Tenchi?" she asked.

"Yeah, its me. You're safe now" replies Tenchi, relieved to see her OK.

Sasami then hugs him tightly, saying "Tenchi, you saved me. Thank you."

Off to the side, Naruto smiles before heading back to check on the others.

Within his chamber, Kagato gasp and starts to cough as his hand goes to his throat._ 'What was that power I just felt?'_ Something had attacked his golem; something so powerful that he had felt the attack, even if only to a lesser extent.

Getting up, he decides to figure this out later. Right now, he needed to focus on Sasami as time was running out and it looked like his trump card; his fail safe, would be needed after all. With that truth now obvious to him, Kagato heads off to see the king and to give him the information that would get the ball finally rolling in his favor.

**(Masaki house – one hour later)**

"Is Sasami OK?" asked Shikamaru. He was doing OK, more or less as was Ino. But both Hinata and Tenten had some bandages on them from the cuts they had suffered from the golem's attack and Tenchi had changed his clothes as his had been torn by the attack he had been hit by.

"She's finally asleep, though I feel nervous about leaving her in her room alone" replied Tenchi.

"She'll be fine. If anyone enters the house, I'll sense it immediately" says Katsuhito.

"That's great and all, but this is the second attempt to kidnap Sasami. Am I the only one here who finds that a little odd?" asked Ino.

"Wait, you're not suggesting that there's a connection between these kidnappings and the Scylla/Spike incident, are you?" asked Tenten.

Tenten looks at Katsuhito and ask "Am I wrong?"

Katsuhito sighs, then says "No, you are right. There is indeed a connection between the two."

"Grandpa, what are you saying?" asked Tenchi.

"I should have told you this before, Tenchi. But I was afraid knowing the truth would lead to you treating Sasami differently" said Katsuhito.

"And what is the truth?" asked Naruto.

"Sasami has the same power as Tsunami. Furthermore, I have a strong suspicion that Sasami is Tsunami reincarnated" said Katsuhito.

"How can you be sure?" asked Hinata.

Katsuhito's response is to reach into his top and pulls out a very old picture. He then places it at the center of the table so the others could lean forward and see what was on it. He then points to one of the girls in the picture and says "That's Tsunami."

"But that's Sasami...a little older maybe and she has two dots on her forehead instead of that triangle" said Ino.

"Its more than just a physical similarity between them. Sasami has a special power, different from any other. A power that can only be hers" said Katsuhito.

"I don't believe it. Sasami is Tsunami. But how? How could she be here now, and younger too? And how can you be sure she just isn't a decedent of Tsunami?" asked Tenchi.

"Because Tsunami died shortly after the Scylla was sealed away. And she never had children either" said Washu, taking everyone by surprise as she entered the room. "And as for how she's here now? I believe they may be connected to it" adds Washu as she points to a girl and boy in the picture, the girl standing behind the boy, who was sitting, and leaning on him with a big grin on her face while the boy just had a goofy smile on his face while his eyes were closed.

"Who are they?" asked Shikamaru.

_'That's Amarillo, the founder of our order. And does that mean that the boy there is...?' _thinks Tenten.

"Can't remember the girls name; Ami I think. But that boy there is famous to you Shumoans. I believe you know him as the Rikudo Sage. And see that man there, the one who looks a little like Katsuhito and Tenchi? That's Yosho, their ancestor" adds Washu.

There were several others in the picture as well; one of which being a samurai with large spiky white hair and a sword at his side (readers of NIO recent chapters should know who this is). "Odd looking bunch, huh?" asked Naruto.

"That they are" says Washu. "That they are" she says again, quietly, a sadness in her voice as she says that.

"Miss Washu, have you finished the Spike tracker yet?" asked Ino, getting a surprised look from Tenten and Hinata. Tenten then looks at Katsuhito who looks at her and grins sheepishly.

"Yeah, I have it right here" she replies as she pulls it out from her pack, then hands it to Shikamaru. "And there's something you should know. Before heading here, I did a test run to make sure it would turn on and I picked up a signal; a strong one."

"Wait, are you saying...?" asked Tenchi.

"Yeah, whoever released the Scylla and has the Spike is hiding somewhere inside the city" said Washu in a grave tone. The time for the conclusion had arrived.


	4. Demon of the Blue Kingdom 4

**D-part start**

"What do you mean we can't go with you?" shouts Tenten, angry at what Shikamaru had just said.

Shikamaru sighs as he rubs the side of his head; it was still way to early in the morning and he was still rather tired to put up with this. "Look, someone needs to stay behind and help the old man protect Sasami. Plus, both you and Hinata are still injured, right? And there's the fact you're priestesses of Ama, trained in healing. Just how do you plan on being of help should we face off with the guy behind this?"

Tenten growled; finding herself wanting to tell Shikamaru, show Shikamaru, just what her training with the order had given her. She looks at Ino and says "Do you believe what he's saying? Or is he just being sexist? As a fellow girl, I'm sure you can understand how I feel?"

"I do understand" replies Ino. "But Shikamaru isn't being sexist. You can trust me on that one. What he's saying is the truth though. You and Hinata aren't fighters like us. If we do get into a fight, just how much help can you two really be to us? Sad truth is, the both of you would be a liability to us."

"I can't believe this" shouts Tenten, huffing in anger. She then takes a deep breath and says "Fine, I'll play babysitter while you're gone. But don't think this discussion is over; not by a long shot."

Shikamaru and Ino sigh, wondering just how Hinata deals with this girl and her very un-priestess like temper tantrums.

Up at the shrine, Katsuhito approaches Tenchi and holds his hands out. "Grandpa, is this...?"

"Correct, Tenchi. What I hold in my hands is the treasure of our family. This sword was once wielded by our ancestor, Yosho. And now, I give it to you with the hope that its power will aid you in destroying the Spike should the need for the power arises" replied Katsuhito.

Tenchi takes the sword and studies the rather impressive hilt. He then frees the blade from its sheath and looks at the blade closely; admiring the shine of the silver. "How does it work?"

"Just need it. It will do its job. So long as you path is true and your intentions are pure and honorable. Even if you don't know what I mean now, you will know when the time comes. And you should also know the blades name; Sword Tenchi."

"Sword Tenchi? Why do it and I have the same name?" asked Tenchi.

"Your mother asked me to name you and I chose Tenchi. As for why I named you Tenchi? Once the day comes that you succeed me, I will tell you my purpose. But for now..." said Katsuhito.

"Focus on the present" replied Tenchi as he sheaths the sword, then he and his grandfather exit the shrine and head back to rejoin the others.

Back at the house, Hinata had just finished climbing the ladder onto the roof, and joins Naruto who is looking up at the stars. "The view is beautiful here" notes Hinata.

"Yeah" said Naruto.

"I wish I could go with you, but I know I'd just be in the way" said Hinata sadly.

She then feels Naruto place a hand on her shoulder and she looks at him as he says "You wouldn't be in the way. To be honest, I can't think of anyone I'd want to have watching my back more than you."

Hinata blushes, then ask "Even though I can't fight...like you."

"I still know you'd have my back" said Naruto.

"Naruto...says Hinata in a whisper as she and Naruto draw closer, their eyes close as their lips draw close enough to where they can just barely feel the impression of the other.

WONK Naruto is hit by a shoe, Ino's shoe, which makes him slip and call falling off the top of the house. "OW...HEY, just what the heck was that all about, Ino?" shouts Naruto as he jumps to his feet.

"Like you said on the boat. We have a mission to do and there's no time for stuff like that" replies Ino as she grabs him by the ear. She then looks up at Hinata and says "Sorry for the interruption", though Hinata doubted that from the sound of Ino's tone.

A few minutes later, everyone is standing outside save Sasami, who was still asleep, and Washu, who had returned home to do...something (she didn't tell them what). "Be careful" said Hinata.

"Don't get yourselves into any trouble with out me there" said Tenten with a sour tone.

Katsuhito simply gives the group a nod and they nod back before turning and heading towards the city. By the time they arrived at the eastern gate, the first rays of the morning sun were beginning to emerge from beyond the horizon. Shikamaru pulls out the Spike tracker, which looked like a normal compass with a crystal as the pointer and activates it.

"According to what Washu said, it will point us in the specific directions we need to go in order to get to the Spike in the shortest amount of time." Shikamaru then examines the compass pointer and adds "North West."

The team runs into the nearest alley way and begin heading in the direction the compass was pointing them to. But just moments after they disappeared from sight, a group of twelve heavily armored knights come marching in from another direction and pass through the East Gate, heading in the direction of the Masaki home.

"Tenchi?" says a groggy Sasami as she walks down the stair. She then looks around and finds no one around, leading her to say with a louder tone "Hello? Is anyone here?" Getting no response, she places a finger against her chin and says "I wonder where everyone went?"

"Sasami, is that you?" asked Hinata as she and Tenten enter from outside.

"What's going on? Where's Tenchi and grandfather?" asked Sasami.

"The old man took off. I think he went up to the shrine to get something. Tenchi went with Ino and the other boys to find the Spike" said Tenten as she sits back down by the table.

"So miss Washu brought the tracker then?" asked Sasami.

"After you went to sleep" said Hinata as she walked up to Sasami. "They should be back soon, so why don't we make them a big breakfast for when they return. I'm sure they'll be hungry once they're back."

Sasami nods as she and Hinata enter the kitchen. Meanwhile, Tenten drops her head onto the table, making a loud thud. "Man, this is so boring. I wish something would happen."

A knock comes suddenly from the door. _'Who could that be at this hour?' _wondered Tenten as she gets up. Another, harder knock hits against the door.

"I'll get it guys" says Tenten towards the kitchen. As a third, even louder knock hits the door, she shouts "Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses, I'm coming."

But just then, the door burst open with enough force to throw it off its hinges and several guards come rushing in. Before she can even react, Tenten finds herself being pinned to the ground by two knights who's full weight make struggling useless. Hinata and Sasami scream as they are also restrained by the knights.

"Hey what's going on here, just who do you guys think you are?" shots Tenten angrily as she's dragged to her feet.

The response she gets is a hard back hand to her face, followed by "Shut up, prisoner."

Another guard looks to the leader and says "We've secured the target. What about the other two?"

"Bring them along; his majesties orders." The lead knight then looks at four of his men and says "You four stay here and find Katsuhito Masaki. The king wants him brought in as well."

"Sir" reply the knights as they begin their search.

"The rest of you, follow me" said the leader before turning and exiting the house.

From higher up, Katsuhito watches as Sasami and the Ama girls are dragged off back to the castle. As much as he wanted to go down and save them, he knew that this had to happen. He just hoped the ending would be as he had foreseen as well. He then turns and heads to take the long way around to getting to Washu's place.

Meanwhile, the others had arrived outside the castle and had found the main entrance had a lot a guards around it. More than was normal according to Tenchi. Luckily for them, Tenchi knew of a side entrance that was used for emergencies. Like if the castle was ever attacked and they needed to get to royal family out quickly and discreetly.

Much to Ino's annoyance, this secret passage required them to pass through the sewer system that ran under the castle and by the time they emerged, she was sure of two things. One; if the guards found them, it would be because of the stench they were giving off. And two; that she would have to burn the clothes she was wearing and bathe non stop for a week...maybe two.

Following the directions the tracker was giving them and avoiding the patrols, they soon found themselves standing before a door. Shikamaru used his Shadow Eye jutsu, which allow him to extend his shadow through cracks and spaces to let him see in past obstructions and found the room empty. Though the door was locked, the shadow was able to release the latch and the team quickly hustled into the room, just barely avoiding being seen by a guard who entered into the hall they had just been in.

Once inside, the tracker points them towards the large book shelf, leading Naruto to say "Guess that means we have a hidden passage on our hands here."

"Let's look around. Be thorough and examine everything" said Shikamaru.

Shikamaru and Tenchi went over to the large book shelf and began to pull on each book. Naruto was checking anything that was hanging on the wall and Ino was examining the desk. "Hey Tenchi, who's that?" she asked as her eyes notice the large painting on the wall.

Tenchi looks away from the book shelf and says "That's Kagato, his majesties personal Madoshi as well as adviser."

"Madoshi?" asked Naruto.

Tenchi thinks for a moment, then says "I'm not sure what the Shumoan term is, but another name for Madoshi I heard that used on an island far to the east called Eire is wizard. Does this mean that he's the one who released the Scylla?"

"Hey guys, I think I found something" said Ino, getting their attention.

"What did you find?" asked Shikamaru as he comes to stand by Ino.

"Place your foot here" said Ino, indicating with her foot an area beneath the desk and slightly under the raised cabinet section. Shikamaru does and immediately realizes what it is. "A pressure plate" he tells Naruto and Tenchi before putting his weight down onto the plate.

Immediately, the book shelf swings inward, revealing a hidden passage that leads downward. "Let's go" said Tenchi as they start walking towards the passage.

Just then, the door bust open and several guards come running into the room. "Halt, intruders" shouts one of the guards as they swarm the group. "Hey wait, we can explain" shouts Naruto. But the guards ignore him as they drag him and the others away.

Despite their words of them having found the Spike and that Kagato was the man behind the incident, the guards still ignore them and soon, they find themselves being brought into the throne room where they're forced down onto their knees before the king and Kagato.

"Your majesty, we found these intruders inside lord Kagato's chambers" said the lead guard.

"And what were they planning, I wonder" questioned Kagato as he looked at the king.

Before anyone can speak, another sound is heard, making our captures team look back as the door to the throne room opens again and the other guard group with Hinata, Tenten, and Sasami enter.

"Sasami" shouts Tenchi as he struggles to free himself.

"Tenchi, your safe" says a relieved Sasami.

"Hinata, are you OK?" yells Naruto.

"I'm fine" replies Hinata.

"The hell we're fine. Just what is going on here? Complains Tenten as the girls are forced onto the ground next to the guys and Ino.

"SILENCE" shouts the king, anger in his voice. He then looks at the leader of the second group and says "Where is Katsuhito Masaki? I ordered him brought here as well."

"My appologies, my king. But he wasn't in the house when we arrived. Currently, we have a team searching for him now" replied the guard.

"A clear sign of guilt if ever there was one" implies Kagato, getting a nod from the king.

"Your majesty, please. It's me, Tenchi Masaki. What's going on? Why are you doing this to us?"

For a second, the king's cold features soften remembering all that the Masaki family had done for the kingdom over the generations. _'Little Tenchi is right. Why am I doing this to them?'_

Sensing the king was swaying from the path he needed him to be on, Kagato leans in and says "Don't let past acts sway your judgment, sire. Don't forget, I have more than enough proof that Sasami is the one who released the Scylla and that the Masaki family aided her."

The cold anger falls over the king again as he gets up and says "You know exactly what is going on here, Masaki. Don't think playing ignorant with me will save you from paying for your crimes."

"But sir, he's not lying" shouts Naruto. "Just what is it do you think he did anyways?"

"Don't use that tone of voice we me, outsider. You really don't know? Unlikely as Kagato believes that you ninja may be in on this. But if you wanna keep the ignorant act up. Fine, I'll tell you" said the king as he points to Sasami. "Sasami Kawai, you have been charged and found to be the most likely suspect in the release of the Scylla that now threatens our kingdom."

"But your majesty, I'm not. Why would I want to release the Scylla and destroy the kingdom? No one has ever treated me badly, especially that bad that I would want revenge of any sort" replies Sasami.

Again, the king's face seem to lighten, till Kagato says "Sir, there is one way to be sure."

The king looks back and ask "Explain."

"I had a team head out into restricted waters and coxed the beast to the surface. We were able to acquire a piece of its flesh, though it came at the cost of the lives of two men. I know I should have ask for your consent first, but..." says Kagato as he pulls a cloth from his robes and unwraps it to reveal the scale in question.

The king shakes his head and says "No, that's alright. I'll want to know the names of the men who dies so I can pay my respects to their families once this issue has been resolved though. But for now, explain how this will work."

"Simple, sire. All she has to do is touch it. The one who released the Scylla will have a resonance with it. Touching the scale will cause it to glow if the person touching it was the one who released the seal."

The king looks at Sasami and says "You say that you are innocent. If that's true, then you will have no problem with touching the scale and proving your innocence."

"I'll do it, sire" replied Sasami.

Kagato walks forward and kneels down before her, then holds the cloth out. Sasami in turn reaches out and places her hand on the scale. For a second, nothing happens. Then the scale begins to glow, making everyone but Kagato's eyes go wide with shock. Kagato grins just a little knowing the cloth was obscuring the fact their was a hole under the cloth that was allowing him skin to scale contact, thus being the true source behind the glow.

Kagato pulls away from her and returns to her feet, saying "And we now have definitive proof, your majesty. This girl is indeed the one."

"No, it can't be..." said Sasami, still in shock by what it had just happened.

"That's a lie, it has to be" shouts Tenchi. "Your majesty, we have a tracker that will allow us to find the Spike of Circe, which is what's keeping the Scylla alive without a Makai Gate. The tracker led us to Kagato's room. We found a hidden passage and..."

"Enough" shouts the king. "I've heard enough of this. We already have proof that Sasami is the cause of all this. And now I will pass down my judgment." The king then looks at Sasami, who was now shaken and terrified. "Sasami Kawai, for the crime of releasing the Scylla and the deaths it has caused or could have caused, I here by sentence you to death."

"No" shouts Tenchi while the Shumoan's were unable to do anything but look on, as shocked as Sasami was terrified right now.

"Furthermore, based on the information provided by Kagato's research, your manner of execution will be that tomorrow, you will be taken out to where the Scylla resides and you will be set upon the water. The Scylla will be drawn to attack, killing you in the process. Kagato has assured me that when you die, so to will the Scylla as the two of you are connected as a result of your releasing the seal. For the sake of peace, this is how it must be" states the king.

As tears begin to fall from Sasami's eyes, the king then says "And as for the rest of you? You, ninja's and priestesses of Shumoa, will be confined into cells until it can be determined if you were involved or not. If not, then you will be allowed to return home, never to return. And if you were, then you will be executed by beheading."

He then looks at Tenchi and says "Tenchi Masaki, as you and your grandfather are likely accomplices in this affair, it is with a heavy heart I sentence both you and your grandfather to death, effective immediately."

Sasami spins around, her eyes wide with shock and terror as Tenchi is forced onto his stomach and a man with an ax comes walking up. The tears in her eyes seem to freeze as the executioner raises his ax up, preparing to deliver the killing blow. The sound of Naruto and the others as they shout at the man to stop and struggling to free themselves is unheard by her as the whole world comes crashing down.

"WAIT" she screams, making everyone looks at her. "I admit it, I released the Scylla. Me, and me alone. Tenchi and his grandfather, and these Shumoan's as well, didn't have anything to do wt it. They were all in the dark."

"Why?" asked the king.

"Because...because I could. Because had the power to do it. I wanted to see if I could use this power I had. Had Kagato not figured it out, I would have saved the kingdom myself within a few days time in order to be the hero and go from being just another face in a crowd to being the hero of Aquinia" said Sasami, doing her best to sound sincere and truthful.

Kagato grins, thinking _'Bravo, Sasami. Well played indeed.'_

"Kagato, what do you think?" asked the king, looking at him.

"Well, she could be telling the truth. Or it could be a ploy" said Kagato as he thinks about it. "Here's a thought, how about we just imprison them all for now, till after Sasami's execution. And then we'll make a final verdict on what's do be done with them. Maybe just banish them all from the kingdom would be good enough. After all, there's been enough blood spilt because of this."

"Agreed" said the king. He then addresses the guards an says "Take Masaki and the outsiders down to the cells and lock them up. Make sure they are under round the clock watch." He then looks at them and says "Once the execution has been carried out, an investigation will be conducted to determine if Sasami's words are true or not. Your fates will be decided at the conclusion on this investigation." He then looks at Sasami and says "As for you? Take her to the isolation pit. It'll give her plenty of time to think about her actions before the sun rises tomorrow."

As the guards force Sasami back to her feet, Tenchi struggles again, trying to free himself. "Tenchi" says Sasami. He looks at her and sees fresh tears falling from her eyes. "This will be the final time I get to see you, so there's something I been wanting to say for a long time."

"Don't say that, Sasami. This isn't..." replies Tenchi, feeling his own eyes starting to tear up.

She shakes her head, then smiles as she says "Thank you, for finding me that day when I was washed up on the beach. Thank you for taking me in, giving me a home, food, and clothing. Thank you for all the things you've done for me. Either in life or in death, I will never forget you." She then leans forward and plants a kiss on his forehead.

_'I love you, Tenchi' _she mentally adds as she allows her kiss to linger till the guards force her away.

For a second, Tenchi remains motionless, as if in a daze, before snapping out of it. He turns himself as best as he can and says "Sasami..." He see her look back at him one last time before the throne room door closes, breaking the line of sight between them. And a horrible feeling comes over Tenchi, a feeling that tells him that he will never see her again. "AAAHHHH" yells Tenchi as he lowers his head to the floor, pounding the ground with his fist as he looses himself to his anguish.

"Escort them to the cells" orders the king, who then looks at Kagato and says "I'm feeling tired and light headed. I'm...gonna go rest."

"Your majesty, I'll take care of the rest" says Kagato as he bows.

Once he was alone, Rumiya appears and ask "What now?"

"Now, we simply wait till the morning. Sasami will die and the Scylla will finally have the power to free itself from the seal completely. And then, my true goal can be achieved" replied Kagato.

"And what of Tenchi and Katsuhito? And of those Shumoan's?" asked Rumiya.

"Go inform the guard still looking for the old man to kill him on sight. Say its on the king's orders. As for Tenchi? He will die after Sasami. It may seem cruel, but I want to see the look in his eyes when I deliver the good news. And as for those Shumoan's? They'll die as well."

"But that will cause an international incident with Shumoa and it could lead to war" points out Rumiya.

"A war with who? By the time anyone on Shumoa even leans of their deaths, this blue kingdom will have been wiped from the face of the earth; just a distant memory" said Kagato who then starts to walk away. "Get ready, Rumiya. We're gonna be busy soon."

"Understood...sir" replied Rumiya as he turns and leaves as well. He still didn't know what Kagato's full plan was yet. But it looked like he would have to act now. Waiting was no longer an option.

**(the next morning – one hour before sunrise)**

Storm clouds had gathered over the kingdom and was making the darkness of night feel more foreboding and and ominous. Thunder rumbles in the distance and the wind had started to pick up, leading many to worry that a hurricane could be coming.

"Lord Kagato, the ships are ready. But shouldn't we wait till we receive word from the weather observatory? I'd hate to see either our flag ship or our four best battle ships scuttled or sank on this mission, even if it is an important one" asked the captain of the flag ship.

"Nor would I, captain" replied Kagato. "But the king's orders stand. The flag ship will deliver the traitor to the sight of her execution and the battle ships are to protect the flag ship. But send word to observatory and have them contact us immediately if the weather becomes to dangerous to sail under."

"Understood, but what about the wind? It's blowing against us" asked the captain.

"Have the crews prep the steam drivers. This weather will give those engines the perfect test to see if they're more viable than the current wind powered sails" ordered Kagato. The captain nods before heading to deliver the message.

Kagato looks back to the castle, catching sight of Sasami as she was being escorted to him. She was now dressed in simpler attire befitting a prisoner who was on her way to her death and her hair was no longer in pig tails, but was fully down and blowing wildly due to the wind. And she looked tired and dirty; not surprising seeing as the pit was not very forgiving to those thrown into it. Especially children. And Kagato had a feeling the she had been crying much of her time within the pit.

"Are you ready to be sacrificed for the greater good?" asked Kagato as Sasami stops before him.

She doesn't respond, instead keeping her gaze focused on the ground. Kagato takes the chain connected to the collar around her neck and says "Return to your stations. I'll take it from here." As Kagato walks Sasami towards the flag ship, he says "Be happy. At least your precious Tenchi will live."

"You're lying" said Sasami, her voice drained and empty.

Kagato smiles, saying "Yeah, I guess I am. Smart girl. What, you aren't gonna beg me to spare him? Have you really lost that much faith in..."

"No" says Sasami, looking up at him, her eyes filled with defiance. "I don't need to beg you to spare him. You won't kill Tenchi. Somehow, he'll escape and he'll come after you. And he will bring you to justice."

Kagato laughs at her, saying "He will try, and he will fail. But even IF he does somehow defeat me, kill me, that still won't save you from what's gonna happen today."

Sasami doesn't reply, choosing to remain silent as they board the ship.

**(Aquinas royal dungeon)**

The first glint of the sun rise was filtering through small window high above the prisoners. Or, at least their would be if the heavy cloud cover wasn't blocking out the sun appearance upon the horizon. When they had first been thrown into the cell, Tenchi had naturally tried to escape; even trying to coax the guard to come and "shut him up", which would have given the guys a chance to quadruple team him and escape. But the guard was smarter than that and had told Tenchi that if he didn't stop his racket making, then he's go over to the cell the girls were being held in and rough one of them up.

The rest of the day had been spent with the guys talking about their other options. Unfortunately, the keys were being kept in another room, making Shikamaru's jutsu style to be out of the question, as was the guard, though he could still hear them through a small eye opening up on the door. Naruto offered to try his Shadow Clones, but that could only end badly with them being crushed by the numbers. Ino had said her mind control techniques could help, but the guard was being smart enough to stay out of her reach when he came to check on them. With the time remaining till Sasami's execution drawing closer, they were getting the feeling that drastic measures would be needed.

"Naruto, I know you guys ruled out using the Shadow Clones. But what about one of those shadow variants you've come up with; like the Shadow Shape jutsu?" asked Ino.

"Thought about that already. But it's still ends with the same problem. Create a clone with a large body could get us mushed" replied Naruto. But there was another option that he knew of. _'I have no choice then. I'll have to use Mazuko mode.'_

Truth be told, he would have used this already. But with Hinata being here, he was afraid that her seeing that would make her hate him, seeing as many people hate Jinchurriki. And he was afraid of finding out how Hinata felt about them.

"Hey, what's that?" comes Tenten, hearing strange sounds from the other room.

The sound of a scuffle could be heard, followed by the sound of something hitting the floor. Immediately after, the door opens and three figures enter the cell block; two of which were familiar.

"Kiyone, Mihoshi" says a surprised Ino.

"And you are?" asked Shikamaru as the third figure stops in front of their cell and uses the key to unlock it.

"My names Rumiya and this is a jail break" replies Rumiya, who runs over and releases the girls.

"Rumiya? Hey wait, aren't you Kagato's student?" asked Tenchi.

"Yeah, I am. But I'll explain as we go" said Rumiya as he runs towards the door. "But we need to get moving or they'll set sail before we can reach the docks." Hearing him say that gets Tenchi and the others to follow after him. As they run, they take a moment to get their gear back.

"Thanks for rescuing us" said Hinata as they emerge outside the castle. She then looks at Kiyone and ask "Miss Kiyone, why are you and miss Mihoshi here?"

"Rumiya contacted us and told us what was going on" said Kiyone.

"And how could we not help, given Kagato's treacherous actions" adds Mihoshi.

"But won't this derail your hopes of getting that promotion you've been wanting?" asked Naruto. "After all, you are going against the orders of the king, even if he has been drugged."

Kiyone freezes up, her eyes wide as she realizes that Naruto was right. "Oh no, what have I done? This will go on my personal record. I'll never be promoted and I'll stay stuck as a lowly dock guard forever."

Mihoshi pats her on her shoulder and says "Look on the bright side, Kiyone."

Kiyone looks at her and ask "And what is the bright side?"

"We'll be able to stay together forever" says Mihoshi happily.

"AAAAAAAWWWWWWWW NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO" screams Kiyone.

"Ignoring them, wanna explain why you're helping us?" asked Tenchi.

"Like I said before, I am Kagato's assistant. But that doesn't mean that I agree with him. When I learned that he had broke the seal and released the Scylla, I knew I had to do something" said Rumiya.

"It was you, wasn't it? You're the one who sent the request to Konoha?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah, it was" replied Rumiya.

"But why didn't you tell us about the Scylla in the message? Or that Kagato was after Sasami?" asked Ino.

"Because I was afraid you wouldn't aid us if I mentioned the Scylla. After all, this isn't your land, so why would you expose yourselves to the danger the beast represents. As for Sasami? I didn't learn about that till after the message was sent. Truth be told, I was expecting older, more experienced shinobi being sent, seeing as I did give a sufficient amount for them."

"You did, but a simple treasure hunt made our Hokage think the large amount of money was partly for travel expenses. Thus, he felt the three of us would be enough" said Naruto.

"I should have been honest" said Rumiya. "If you three had been the experienced shinobi I was expecting, I would have met you at the docks and led you to the castle to deal with the Spike right then and there, taking a quick short cut to save Sasami and explain the truth in the process. Seeing as you weren't, I just left a message at the Sleeping Lamb and watch you save Sasami to gauge your skills."

"Were you our captain yesterday when we learned of the Scylla?" asked Ino.

"Yeah. I was going to tell you three the truth then, but I sensed Kagato's presence in the air and I panicked" said Rumiya.

After a few more minutes of running, they arrive at the docks and find the ships had already disappeared from sight. "Great, now what?" asked Tenten.

"I was afraid we'd be late. Alright, plan B then" said Rumiya.

"And that is?" asked Hinata.

"We'll break into two teams. One team will take a ship and pursue Kagato and rescue Sasami. The other will come with me back to the castle, were we'll destroy the Spike" says Rumiya.

"I'll go after Kagato and save Sasami, the rest of you go with Rumiya. I doubt Kagato will have left the Spike unguarded" says Tenchi as he starts to walk away.

"Hold on" said Shikamaru, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know you want to go after Sasami, but you'd better serve her by going with Rumiya and destroying the Spike. The three of us will go and save Sasami" said Shikamaru, indicating Naruto and Ino and himself.

"But why?" shouts Tenchi.

"The weather" says Mihoshi, taking everyone by surprise. "The wind is blowing against the direction you'd have to sail to reach the quarantine zone that the Scylla is located in. And with all the ships that have steam drivers still under development save for the royal flag ship and our four best battle ships, there's no way to get their except either swimming or running atop the water, which I hear ninja can do."

"Damn, Ayeka was right. She can be smart when she has to be" says an amazed Tenten.

_'It's times like these that make me glad she's my partner. If only she was like this all the time' _thinks Kiyone.

"They're right, Tenchi. Our ninja friends have the best chance of getting to her in time in order to save her" said Rumiya.

Tenchi clenches his fist; wanting to argue about this. But he knew they were right. Besides, the more time they waste, the more likely they'll fail to save Sasami.

"Alright" says Tenchi. He then looks at the ninja and ask "Please, save her for me."

"We will" said Ino.

"We'll come with you and Tenchi then" said Kiyone as she and Mihoshi pulls out their Flow guns.

"What about us?" asked Hinata.

"Hinata, can you and Tenten head back to my place and check on grandpa for me?" asked Tenchi.

"No problem. Just be careful" said Tenten, much to Hinata's surprise.

"OK, let's go guys" says Rumiya, who then holds out his hand. The others place their hands atop his. After a quick moment, the break apart to do their assigned task.

"Tenten, why were you so willing to return to the Masaki home?"asked Hinata.

"Our Slayer gear is still there. Once we arrive, we'll suit up while seeing if the old man's there. Then we'll follow after Tenchi and the others" replied Tenten.

"But we don't know exactly where they're going" points out Hinata.

"Not to worry. I slapped one of our tracers of Tenchi's back. We'll be able to follow the signal back to him" replies Tenten as they speed up their return to the Masaki house.

Down at the beach, the ninja looks at the rough waters as droplets of rain start to fall on them. "Can we run across the water?" asked Ino.

Shikamaru shakes his head, saying "Not with those waves. We'll have to find another way to pursue."

"But what? A row boat?" asked Ino.

"I have an idea" says Naruto, getting them to look where he was looking.

Seeing what Naruto was seeing and guessing at what he was thinking, Ino says "You've got to be kidding."


	5. Demon of the Blue Kingdom 5

**E-part start**

Tenchi, Rumiya, Kiyone, and Mihoshi ran down the long corridor after having descended the stairs from Kagato's room. They assumed that this had once been apart of the ancient catacombs that lay beneath the castle. Though not even the most devoted historian hadn't the clue as to what purpose these tunnels once served.

"Hold on a second" says Rumiya, coming to a quick stop.

"What is it?" asked Kiyone, readying her Flow gun just in case.

"I think we may have company" said Rumiya.

True to his word, a group of golem suddenly emerge from the various passageways around them and swarm around the group. "Looks like he was expecting us" points out Mihoshi.

"I guess this means Kagato was already aware of my betrayal. Or he suspected it at least" says Rumiya as a golem launches itself at him, forcing him to send a ball of Flow energy from his hand at it. Its body is blown in half, but it quickly repairs itself to being almost as good as new.

"Great, they can regenerate" says Tenchi before launching himself at another golem.

"Rumiya, you and Tenchi go on ahead. Me and Mihoshi will stay behind and handle this" says Kiyone.

"Are you sure?" asked Rumiya, seeing more golems already entering the room.

"Each time they're damaged, they repair themselves. But the repairs are less effective with each fix. With enough damage, they'll go down for good; just leaving the issue of numbers" says Kiyone.

"In other words, we'll be fine. Just go do what you have to do" says Mihoshi, dodging around an attacking golem and shooting it in the back of its head, once again showing her ability to get serious when the need was great enough.

"Alright, just be careful" said Tenchi as he and Rumiya break away and enter into one of the side paths.

After another short series of minutes spent running through several corridors of various length, they pass into one long one with a dim light coming from the far end. "Once we pass through here, we'll be where the Spike is. Be prepared; I doubt Kagato will have left it unguarded."

Tenchi nods, but then hears something coming from the room they were heading towards. "What is that? Music?"

"It's the sound of a pipe organ. Kagato has a strong love for it...wait, why would we be hearing it? Oh no, it can't be" says Rumiya, a sudden fear was washing over him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Tenchi as they neared the end of the passage.

He gets his answer as they emerge into a massive room. A mysterious power filled the air, creating the illusion of the night sky lined with stars along the ceiling and walls of the room. Upon the floor itself, was a simple path that led to a large circular plateau before another path led to the far end of the room. Situated upon the plateau was the Spike, spinning in place slowly as an eerie light shined out from it. At the end of the far path was the massive pipe organ, and Kagato, who was sitting before at its front and playing a haunting melody. And to the sides of the path was water, casting the reflection of the starry night sky illusion back towards the sky itself.

"Kagato...but why is he here?" wonders Rumiya aloud. He was on the ship; he had seen him boarding the ship, planning on going along to make sure Sasami's sacrifice was successful. So how could he be here too?

"Who cares" says Tenchi as he charges forward, raising Sword Tenchi up high as he jumps at the Spike, ignoring Rumiya's shout to wait, and sends the sword slashing down to slice it in two. But his blade meets instead a barrier that repulses Tenchi, sending him flying back, hitting the ground hard.

"Damn" says Tenchi as he picks himself up as Rumiya runs over to him.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" asked Kagato while finishing up his performance, then turning back to look at them. He then gets to his feet and starts walking towards them. "How am I here and there at the same time? Easy, a golem with my likeness is there. With my full power having returned, controlling it with my mind while still being active here is but a trifle for me."

"Rumiya, I considered the possibility that you would turn against me. But to actually find it happening? Well, it's rather upsetting really. Why did you do it? Wasn't the promise of unlimited power and infinite knowledge not enough?" asked Kagato.

"How could I possibly want that when the price would be innocent lives. And not just Sasami, but everyone in Aquinia. I figured out what you needed the Scylla for, Kagato. By having it eat her, absorb her, it will gain the power of Tsunami. Not only will it free the beast fully from the seal, but it will gain far greater power than it should have. And you'll use that power to destroy Aquinia" said Rumiya.

"Why?" shouts Tenchi to Kagato. "What could possibly make you want to destroy Aquinia? What did we ever do to you?"

"It's nothing personal. This kingdom, this very island, is just in the way" replied Kagato.

"In the way? Just in the way of what?" shouts Tenchi.

"Sorry, but there's no need to tell you, seeing as your going to die here" says Kagato to Tenchi. But he turns to Rumiya and says "You first."

Immediately, Rumiya's body lurches forward and Kagato grabs him with his open right hand. Tenchi rushes at Kagato, ready to attack and save Rumiya, but Kagato simply swings his left arm wide and Tenchi finds himself being hit by some invisible force that sends him flying off to the side.

As Rumiya struggles to free himself, in vain; Kagato strengthens his hold and starts to cut off his ability to breath. "We would have gone far together, my apprentice. But now, I'll have to let you go" says Kagato as he goes to crush Rumiya's wind pipe.

The sudden sound of metal cutting through the air is heard, followed by Rumiya hitting the ground, hacking and coughing as he works to refill his lungs with air. Kagato's severed hand laying next to him while Kagato simply looks at the stub that use to be his hand, then at the bladed weapon that has caused his injury as it lands in the hand of one of the newly arrived figures.

"And just who are you?" asked Kagato as he grips the stub with his remaining hand, causing a new hand to grow out of the stub.

"We're demon Slayers, and we're here to take you out" said the lead figure (Tenten) while her companion (Hinata) returns her chakram to its hold on her belt.

**(out on the ocean)**

The five ships had taken up their positions and final act was now being done. Sasami had been tied up to a pole located on a small raft and was now being lowered onto the waters. "How will she be pulled clear of our ships? With the waters getting rougher by the minute, she could be sent back towards us rather easily" asked the captain.

"See the orb placed atop the pole? That is sending a field of Flow pulsing through the entire raft. It will ensure it doesn't tip over and remain above the water unless dragged under by something strong, like the Scylla. And it will be pulled to where it's closest to the Scylla. Seeing as our ships are just outside the Scylla's territory, we should be safe unless the waters force us inside" replied the fake Kagato.

As the raft Sasami was bound to begins to be pulled into the Scylla's territory, the captain ask "How long will it take?"

"Not long, if my guess is correct" says Kagato.

"Captain, lord Kagato, three unidentified objects off the port bow" shouts one of the crewmen.

"What?" shouts the captain as he and Kagato run to port and the captain pulls out his periscope. "Surfing...kids?" says the confused captain as he hands the scope to Kagato.

"No; surfing ninja" corrects Kagato, smiling just a little bit. "I had a feeling they'd escape and make a rescue attempt. Will make this more interesting."

"Men, load the cannons. Blast them out of the water" shouts the captain.

A second later, the port side cannons on the flag ship let loose a volley of cannon fire and two of the battle ships fire as well a few moments later. The cannon balls collide with the water, nearly hitting the three ninja. But their smaller size and faster motions make dodging the attacks easy.

"I knew this was a bad idea" says Ino as they dodge a second volley of shots.

"No way" says Naruto. "This surfing stuff is awesome."

"Naruto, you dummy. Don't be going and having a good time now. Don't forget we here on a rescue mission. Not to mention we're being shot at by giant metal balls" shouts Ino as they dodge another round. As the third set of cannon balls come sailing at them, she adds "Look at Shikamaru, at least he's..."

"Cowabunga" shouts Shikamaru as he uses the crash on a cannon ball against the water just ahead of him to launch himself skywards, doing a rather sweet 180 with his board before landing perfectly back in the water. He looks at Naruto and Ino and sees their stunned, shocked looks. "What? I'm not allowed to have a little fun every now and then?"

As they draw ever nearer to the ships, Ino ask "OK, so what's the plan?"

"You guys get aboard that main ship and capture Kabuto. I'll get Sasami, then join you" says Naruto, who was already moving away from them towards where Sasami was located.

"Sounds like a plan" replies Shikamaru as he and Ino break off, aiming themselves to intercept the flag ship.

The sound of cannon fired had not gone unnoticed by Sasami, who was curious as to what was going on. Unfortunately, her restraints were keeping her from being able to look back to see. Had the Scylla's territory expanded and were the ships being attacked? Despite what was happening with her, about to happen to her, she still didn't want anyone to die because of her.

Suddenly, Naruto comes racing into her line of sight as he shoots past her, shouting "Hang on, Sasami. I'll be there in a giffy." He swings his board around, allowing him to turn back, coming to a stop at Sasami's behind and Naruto quickly gets to work on releasing her restraints.

"Tenchi...is he OK?" asked Sasami.

"He's fine. We got busted out and decided to come rescue you. Well, Tenchi was wanting to do the rescuing, but we convinced him to leave that to us while he went with our client/rescuer and destroy the Spike. Now, as soon as we deal with Kagato, we'll take you back to him" replies Naruto.

"Thank goodness" says Sasami, breathing a sigh of relief as the last of her restraints falls free.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Ino race directly at the flag ship, then jump from their boards straight onto the deck, where they find the crew already waiting for them. Though the sky was still incredibly dark due to the heavy storm cloud coverage and it still being very early into the sunrise, the lamps upon the deck were making more than enough light for shadows to be cast.

"Shadow Possession jutsu" says Shikamaru immediately, his shadow coming alive and freezing all the crew in their tracks.

"Mind Binder jutsu" shouts Ino, jumping into each of the crews minds and placing a subliminal command that they were under her command.

"Stand down" orders Ino, getting a "yes, my queen" as the response from the crew as they are released from Shikamaru's jutsu and bowing before Ino.

"Their queen?" asked Shikamaru, giving her a skeptical look.

Ino just sticks her tongue out and says "What? Can't a girl dream?"

"Damn it you dogs, what are you doing? Bowing before an enemy is disgraceful" shouts the captain.

Shikamaru and Ino go at him and Kagato, not giving them any more time to act. Within moments, Ino has the captain at her mercy with a kunai to his neck while Shikamaru had a Shadow Bind jutsu wrapping around Kagato, strangling him. "It's over, Kagato. We've saved Sasami here while Tenchi should be destroying that Spike right about now."

"You really think victory will be that simple, do you?" asked Kagato, smiling deviously. "How can you be sure you've one here? How can you be sure he'll be able to destroy the Spike without any problems there?"

"Let us go, ya dogs. Don't think the other ships won't attack us in order to save us" says the captain.

"Yeah right, and destroy the flag ship and take a risk at killing both it's captain and the royal Madoshi? Just how many of their crew would be willing to do that now, I wonder?" asked Ino, making the captain sweat nervously.

"Ino, something's not right here. Get inside Kagato's head and find out what he's hiding" orders Shikamaru as he extends a Shadow hand at the captain to keep him in check.

"Right" says Ino. "Mind Possession jutsu." For a second, there's nothing, then Ino shouts "Shikamaru, that isn't him. It's just another golem in desquise."

"What?" says a surprised Shikamaru.

Kagato grins even more, saying "Looks like this isn't as easy as you'd think, huh boy?"

As the fake Kagato laughs, Shikamaru's jutsu tightens its grip on him, forcing the illusion to break and reveal the golems true form as it gets crushed. He then lets it clatter onto the ground while the captain, with a voice filled with shock, ask "Wha...what happened? What is that creature."

"That wasn't Kagato, captain. That was just one of his golem creatures, here in his place" says Ino.

"But why? What's going on here?" asked the captain.

"Was Kagato ordered to be here by the king?" asked Shikamaru.

The captain nods, saying "Aye."

"Look, here's the deal. Kagato lied, to both you and your king. Sasami didn't release the Scylla, he did. The fact he's not here is proof enough of this" says Ino.

"But why?" asked the captain.

"Beats us. But how about we head back and find out" says Shikamaru.

Before the captain can reply, the ocean sudden erupts in anger as a loud, angry roar is heard. "Hey guys, I think we overstayed our welcome" shouts Naruto as he races towards the flag ship with Sasami in his arms.

"Men, get the ship out of here. And tell the other ships to pull back as well" commands Ino.

"Aye, my queen" reply the men as the hustle to carry out her orders.

"Hey, don't order my crew around" shouts the captain.

Out on the water, Sasami looks back and sees the outline of the Scylla fast approaching them. "Naruto, its getting closer."

"I know. And even with the boundaries, it might be able to hit the flag ship with its tail" says Naruto. He then shouts "Shikamaru, Ino, we need to distract it till the ships are safely away."

"And how do we do that, Naruto?" shouts Ino as she and Shikamaru run to the side of the deck, looking at him.

"Simple, we give it something it wants even more than Sasami here" was Naruto's reply.

"And that is?" asked Shikamaru.

"Here, catch" shouts Naruto as he passes the ship, tossing a surprised Sasami up onto the deck. The sudden action make Shikamaru and Ino scramble, catching her and being knocked back at the same time. As they get back to their feet, they run back to the side to see Naruto pulling away and, to their surprise, the Scylla following after him.

"Me" shouts Naruto, knowing the Scylla had finally figured out just what it was Naruto was and it was now far more interested in getting him than Sasami.

**(beneath Aquinia)**

"Demon Slayer?" asked Kagato. "Well, this is getting rather curvacious" he adds, taking note of their rather form fitting and shapely attire.

"You're safe now, Mr. Tenchi" says Hinata as she readies her battle claws for battle.

Tenchi looks at them, then ask "Tenten, Hinata, is that you?"

"Huh, how did you know? We have our faces covered by this cloth" ask Tenten, looking at him.

"Yeah, but not your hair though, apart from those head bands. Maybe Hinata's hair could be seen on many girls from around here, but no girl I know has their hair done up in buns" points out Tenchi.

"He has a point" says Hinata, thinking Tenten should have undone her buns for this.

"Aw dammit, I also forget that detail" shouts Tenten, pulling the cloth off her mouth as Hinata does the same. After all, there was no need to hide their faces now.

"Tenchi, promise you won't tell Naruto, OK?" asked Hinata, getting a nod in response.

As Tenchi gets back on his feet and joins them, Kagato jumps back but still maintains his smile as he says "Well, this just keeps getting more and more entertaining." He then points to the gem adorning his chest and says "This is what's keeping the force field around the Spike active. Destroy it and you'll have your shot at the Spike."

"Mighty kind of you to tell us that" said Tenten as she readies her daggers. "Why so helpful?"

"Because I'm not to worried about losing here, little girl" says Kagato.

"Rumiya, you OK?" ask Tenchi as Rumiya gets back to his feet and joins them.

"Yeah, now lets get Kagato and destroy that Spike. We're running out of time" says Rumiya.

Tenchi strengthens the grip on his sword as he launches himself at Kagato with Hinata and Tenten breaking off in different directions while also moving at him. Rumiya jumps back and fires several Flow blast at Kagato, who easily blocks them, then dodges Tenchi's attacks. He then flies into the air, firing off his own Flow blast back at Tenchi who jumps back and away from the impact.

Tenten comes at him from one side and Hinata the other as they both start striking out at him together. Kagato wards off their attacks as Tenchi comes in, slashing his sword left and right as fast as possible. Hinata tries to deliver a thrust with her claws at Kagato, but he jerks back before hitting her with a strong Flow blast, blowing her back into aside wall with enough force to to knock a hole in it.

"Damn you" shouts Tenten as she manages to leave a cut on Kagato's face, taking him by surprise. He catches Tenchi's next attack and swings him into Tenten, sending them both towards the ground. As Kagato aims a Flow blast at him, Rumiya appears and says "Forget about me?" and fires his own blast right into the gemstone, making it shatter instantly.

"You" shouts Kagato, hitting Rumiya with a Flow blast that slams him into the ground, knocking him out.

"It's over now" shouts Tenten, seeing the barrier around the Spike fall away and moving in to destroy it. Kagato tries to intercept her, but Tenchi blocks him with a new series of sword attacks. "NOW" shouts Tenten as she sends her daggers slicing into the Spike, making it crack, then shatter.

"Alright, we did it" says Tenchi.

"Really? You think so, huh?" asked Kagato, smiling suddenly.

"Wha..." says Tenten in surprise as a sudden rush of energy shoots out and she finds herself being trapped within a wall of energy, unable to move at all.

"Tenten" shouts Tenchi before he feels Kagato landing a really strong punch to his stomach, making him fall back onto the ground.

"Did you really think I'd just leave the Spike laying out in the open like that? Even with a barrier protecting it? Did you not think my telling you how to take the barrier out was a bit odd, even if I was putting on a cocky act? It seems I overestimated you all. Since this game has become dull, I think I'll just kill you and be done with it" says Kagato as he aims a killing amount of Flow right at Tenten.

**(the ocean)**

The multitude of tongues that the Scylla had were bursting forth from the ocean like tentacles, all aimed at catching Naruto, who kept dodging and weaving back and forth, and having several rather close calls that was making this rather annoying. The fact the waves were slowing him down didn't help either.

Naruto looks back and sees the ships moving further and further away and he hoped that they'd get in the clear soon as he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. A sudden tongue shooting out before him forces Naruto to jump off the board and over the tongue and barely landing back on his board as the ocean to his right explodes outwards as the Scylla comes sailing out, it's giant mouth opened wide, as it tries to swallow Naruto whole.

Sending a powerful blast of chakra aimed directly below him, Naruto causes the water to erupt like a geyser, sending him and his board skyward and just barely dodging the Scylla's attack.

"_Naruto, we're clear. Now get your butt out of their"_ comes Ino, using the psychic link she and Naruto had developed during the Shadow Test to communicate with him.

"About time" he says to himself as he hits the water and makes a beeline towards the ships.

The Scylla's tongues make another attempt at grabbing Naruto, who easily dances around them. _"Naruto, behind you"_ comes Ino, making Naruto look back and pail as he sees the Scylla's tail having emerged from the water and coming down at him, faster than he could dodge.

"Aw, wipe out" groans Naruto as the tail slams into him, sending him sinking beneath the waves. As he sinks further down, unconscious, the Scylla's comes up from under him; it's tongues shooting out and wrapping around him. He is drawn in and the beast mouth snaps shut immediately. For a second, nothing happens as the Scylla remains motionless. And then, it's whole body erupts in a violent shake as red/orange chakra rises around it.

"What happened? Where's Naruto?" asked Sasami, no longer seeing him on the water.

"He was hit" replies Shikamaru. "Ino, is he OK?"

"I...can't feel him no more. Our links gone silent" says Ino, fear gripping her being.

An explosive sound rocks the area as the Scylla rises from the ocean, it's body aglow with Biju chakra. The creature roars with rage as it begins to grow even bigger, it's gray colored skin turning dark red, and it's tail breaking into nine tails. It's eyes a dark fire.

"What in blazes is that?" shouts the captain.

"The Scylla...it ate Naruto..." said Shikamaru, his eyes wide with shock.

"And it's feeding on his Biju power. It's becoming a Biju" says Ino, backing away.

The Nine Tailed Scylla roars as the transformation is completed. It then looks down and sees the seal glowing brightly beneath the surface of the water, trying to drawn it back beneath the water. The Scylla opens its giant maw of a mouth and a sphere of black chakra begins to form within.

"Everyone, brace for impact" shouts the captain, smart enough to guess what was about to happen here.

The Scylla fires off it's Biju Dhama at the seal, the power in the attack causing the seal to shatter like glass from the impact. The Scylla roars triumphantly, both at having finally been fully freed from the seals restraints and from its new power. It then charges up another Biju Dhama and fires it at a nearby island, wanting to practice this power before going after the man who had released it. With this new power, it no longer needed anything to help keep it alive now.

**(beneath Aquinia)**

Kagato was aiming a powerful Flow blast at Tenten who, due to her being immobilized, would not be able to dodge. But then, Kagato stops as something comes over him. "Well, this is unexpected."

He then looks at Tenchi and says "I don't know what's going on out there, seeing as my substitute was destroyed, but it seems that the Scylla has come into a seriously strong power. One so great, it was able to destroy the seal binding it with ease."

"Sasami...no" says Tenchi as he gets back to his feet, feeling a rib or two having been broken as he does so.

"What would you do if I said she was?" asked Kagato, slightly amused. He knew it wasn't her, but one of the ninja, the one who had been behind that strange flash that had taken out his golem the other night. And he could feel the Scylla's mind and its desire to kill him now.

"YOU..." shouts Tenchi as he charges at Kagato, swinging his sword desperately at him. But his attacks are slower than before, due to his injuries. Kagato sighs as he catches the blade mid swing, and keeps his grip on it.

"It's over, Tenchi Masaki. She's finished and you're finished as well" said Kagato as he sends a pulse of Flow energy into the sword, causing the blade to shatter and the hilt to fall apart save for the handle. He then thrust his palm into Tenchi's stomach, and sends Tenchi flying back with another Flow pulse.

"No, it can't be..." says Tenchi, looking at the destroyed sword, then back at Kagato, who was walking towards him, a ball of Flow energy forming in his hand.

_'Dammit, I can't end this way. There has to be something I can do, something...'_ thinks Tenchi in desperation as Kagato comes to stand over him.

"_**Just have faith in your own power" **_comes a voice that sounds a lot like Sasami's, only older.

_'Power, my own power?' _mentally asked Tenchi.

"_**Yes, the power that sleeps within you. Just reach out and need it. It will do the rest."**_

"Don't worry, boy. You won't be alone in death. After all, she'll be there with you" said Kagato as he fires the ball of Flow energy at point blank range at Tenchi, who disappears into the blast of energy.

"No..." says Tenten, struggling even harder, in vain, to move.

"Now, how about you?" asked Kagato as he looks at Tenten. "Or maybe you?" he says as he looks at Rumiya who was finally beginning to stir.

"I see, so this is what she meant" says Tenchi, making Kagato spin around to see Tenchi's back.

"You survived? Impressive that you dodged that attack and did so without me even seeing you move. But don't think I'll miss twice" says Kagato as he fires the Flow at Tenchi.

But the Flow hits a wall of energy that suddenly appears to protect Tenchi, taking the shape of a wing. Two more appear as Tenchi turns around to face Kagato, allowing the Madoshi to see three glowing marks on Tenchi's forehead, at the exact spot where Sasami had kissed him before.

"That mark, those wings of light? Don't tell me you...?" says an astonished Kagato as Tenchi holds his hands up before himself and the three light wings move at him, covering him with a white and light blue colored robes. "It is...the Wings of the Light Hawk. One of the oldest and most ancient of powers; and it's all at this boys command?"

Tenchi holds out sword Tenchi and the Light Hawk energy flux's around it, reshaping it and giving it a blade of energy. "I understand now" says Tenchi as he looks at the blade.

"No, I refuse to believe this. I refuse to believe that a kid like you could have that kind of power" shouts Kagato as he fires a beam of Flow at Tenchi, who simply forms a shield that easily blocks the attack. Tenchi then disappears and reappears directly in front of Kagato, his blade piercing his chest.

"It's over" says Tenchi as Kagato starts coughing up blood.

"Yes, it would be...if not for one simple fact. As long as the Spike still exist, my life and the life of the Scylla are connected. One can't die while the other lives" says Kagato, laughing. "And even this power won't help you find the Spike."

"But my power can" says Hinata, bruised and bloody, as she emerges from the hole in the wall. "Byakugan" she shouts, activating her power. Immediately, everything in the room becomes visible to her and she can see a string of energy attached to Kagato. Following it, she sees it joining another string, likely connecting to the Scylla, both meeting at the gemstone fashioned into the largest of the organ pipes.

"I found it" she says as she leaps forward, channeling chakra into her battle claw and ignoring Kagato's shout; she stabs her weapon into the crystal and watches it crack then shatter.

"NO" shouts Kagato before a burst of energy shoots from Tenchi's sword, slicing him in half.

Tenten finds herself being freed from her binds and falls to the ground, being caught by Rumiya before hitting the ground. Tenchi rushes to Hinata and catches her from her own fall, then joins Tenten and Rumiya.

"Tenchi...the same name as the master key...I understand now" says Kagato as he has a sudden moment of clarity. His body starts to begin fading away, starting with his feet.

_'Master Key?'_ wonders Tenchi. "Kagato..."

"Don't worry, it's over. You won boy" says Kagato, surprised at how calm and at peace he was. "And don't worry about the girl either, She's still very much alive and you'll see her soon enough."

"But why...why did you do all of this?" asked Tenchi.

As the fade reaches his torso, Kagato says "I wanted to discover the truth about the sealed secret that lies beneath Aquinia."

"What are you talking about? What sealed secret?" asked Tenchi.

Kagato extends his right hand as the fade reaches his chest, making a book come sailing free from his chair and land in Tenchi's outstretched hand. "Here, everything I discovered is recorded in this journal. Maybe after reading this, you'll understand my actions a little better."

As they fade reaches his face, another truth comes to mind and Kagato says "Tenchi, a word of warning. I fear the power the Scylla did come in to may have caused a problem you'll need to be on guard for in the future. It will come for you...and Sasami too if I'm right."

"What will?" asked Tenchi.

"Ka..." Kagato starts to say, but the rest is unheard as he finishes fading away to nothing.

Tenchi's clothes give off a light glow before fading away. He looks at sword Tenchi and sees it had returned to its broken state, but still has a energy blade which fades away as well. This fight was over. Now all they had to do was wait for the Konoha ninja to return with Sasami.

**(the ocean)**

The Scylla fires again, destroying a third island and it roars its pleasure; finally having gotten use to this new power. It then turns its attention to the fleeing boats. Though distant, it could easily make out Sasami on one of the boats and seeing as it is aware of the power within her, letting her live could prove problematic for it later on.

Everyone aboard the flag ship freeze in fear and panic as the Scylla forms another Biju Dhama and aims it right at them. As the ball starts to fire, the Scylla's head suddenly lurches to the side, making the ball impact with the water.

"What's going on?" wonders Shikamaru.

"The Spike, it's been destroyed" says Sasami, not knowing how she knew that.

"Then that means there's still hope" says Ino before putting all her physical and mental energy into her link with Naruto and releases it all at once.

"_**Naruto!"**_

In a dark and lonely place, Naruto hovers in nothingness._ 'Where am I? What is this place?'_

"**_Naruto!"_** comes a familiar voice.

_'Hm, that voice...Ino? I should respond, but...so tired...'_

"_**Taking a break already? That's not like you. Come on, Naruto. Shown me what your made of."**_

_'Huh? Who was that? Sounds so familiar'_ thinks Naruto till he realizes that the voice is right. His eyes shoot open. "What am I doing. Now's not the time to be taking a nap."

"Hey, something's happening with the beasty" says the captain.

Everyone watches as the beast spasms violently. And then, a ball of red chakra burst forth from the beast body, sailing high into the air. The Scylla bellows in pain as it falls back into the ocean. Meanwhile, the ball of chakra fades out, revealing Naruto who was surrounded with red/orange chakra.

"Naruto" says a relieved Ino.

"What is that surrounding him?" asked Sasami.

"It's his Mazuko Mode" says Shikamaru.

Naruto, his eyes blazing red, looks down at the Scylla as it reemerges from the ocean. **"I see, so you refuse to just die peacefully, huh?"**

The creatures response is to send its tentacle like tongues shooting out in an attempt to recapture Naruto while it still has time. Naruto darts around the air, easily dodging them. **"You're really desperate to get me back in you, huh?" **asked Naruto aloud as he holds out his right hand; the chakra cloak upon his hand growing bigger and much sharper looking. **"Fine then,. Open up and say AWE."**

Naruto shoots downwards, right at the beast opened mouth as it launches itself into the air, wanting to get him back quickly. **"Forbidden art: Rending Claw."**

Naruto flies into the beast mouth, which snaps shut as it falls back into the water. A few tense seconds pass, and then the ocean erupts violently as an massively powerful explosion rocks the area. Bits and pieces of the Scylla come flying out of the water and disintegrate in mid air.

"He did it, Naruto killed it" shouts Shikamaru.

"But where is he?" asked Ino, not seeing him anywhere. Was he still under the water? Had the explosion knocked him out?

A splash of water draws her from her thoughts and realizes that Sasami had dived in after Naruto. "Show off" shouts Ino as she stamps her foot. "Saving him was my job, dammit.'

"Next time, don't take so long to make a move" says Shikamaru, getting a sour look from Ino in return.

As Naruto finds himself sinking again into the ocean depths he finds remaining conscious hard. He wonders if he and the ocean didn't mix seeing as this was like the third time since arriving in Aquinia that he was in danger or drowning. But the combination of Mazuko Mode and the Scylla exploding while he was still inside had been more than he bargained for.

He opens his eyes just a little and sees a light approaching him. Was he dead already? A figure appears within the light, a figure that looks very familiar to him. _'Sasami? No, she's older than Sasami...looks like that girl from the picture...Tsunami? No, that can't be right...'_

The girl reaches out and grabs Naruto, pulling him into a hug. Her eyes look at him as she smiles before they both rise back up to the surface. Moments later, Sasami's head shoots out of the water along with Naruto's and she somehow is able to pull him back to the flag ship, where they're hauled aboard quickly.

"Naruto...he's not breathing" shouts Shikamaru to the captain.

"Stand back, I'll do some CPR on him" says Ino as she leans down before him. As her face approaches his, her cheeks light up with a pink blush. She reaches out and opens his mouth while opening her's and closes the distance, only for Naruto to sputter back to life and coughs water right into Ino's open mouth just when she was a hair's length away from mouth to mouth.

"AAAAA" cries Ino as she jerks away, gagging from what just happened while Naruto sits up, looks around, and ask "Hey, what happened? Where am I?"

Hearing him, Ino reaches out and grabs him by the collar of his shirt and forces him to look at her straight in the eyes as she replies "What happened? You just nearly made me vomit, that's what happened, you idiot."

Naruto cocks his head in confusion and ask "Huh?", making Ino use her Ice Cream Headache jutsu on him.

"You saved me, Naruto. You saved all of Aquinia. Thank you" says a grateful Sasami.

"Hey Sasami, what happened to your clothes?" asked Shikamaru, getting Naruto and Ino to look as well.

Sasami looks down and realizes that her clothes had indeed changed. She was now wearing a frilly red dress, a white sleeveless top, a pink sash wrapped around her waist that had some cloth reaching out and wrapping around her arms at the elbow, a large pink bow on the back of the sash, and a smaller pink bow on her chest with a emerald broach at it's center.

"I don't know, but I really like it" says Sasami.

"You know, you look like one of those magical girl characters from those manga I used to read when I was still a kid" says Ino.

"Really?" asked Sasami before taking on a pose with one leg lifted off the ground and hanging against the back of her knee of the other leg, one hand held out before her and making a peace sign, while the other was next to her face and making a sideways peace sign over her right eye.

"Then call me Magical Girl, Pretty Sammy then" she jokes before giggling.

Yeah, it was going to be a long trip back.

By the time they had returned to port, Sasami's "Magical Girl" mode had worn off and she had returned to her previous clothes, though she had found a shiny bracelet hanging on her right wrist, making her wonder if they were connect. As they docked at the harbor, they quickly disembarked, wanting to find out if the others were OK.

"Sasami" shouts Tenchi as he comes running up, with Rumiya, Hinata, and Tenten, who had switched back to their priestess garments, right behind him.

Seeing Tenchi makes Sasami tear up and sniffle. She then shouts "Tenchi" before running and throwing herself at him, her impact causing Tenchi to stumble and fall back onto the ground. But he didn't mind seeing as he was just grateful to see the girl who was currently hugging him to death and crying like crazy was OK.

Hinata sees Naruto, who gives her a thumbs up, making her smile and blush as she goes to hug him as well.

Following this, Rumiya works with Washu to make an antidote that cures the king of Kagato's mind control. During this time, Washu takes a liking to the kid and ask him (or forced) to become her student. Once he was back in his right frame of mind and heard the full story, the king apologized to everyone involved as well as thanks them for saving his kingdom. He even made Sasami an honorary princess to boot.

A few days later, at the Masaki house, Katsuhito ask "So, you're leaving tomorrow then."

Tenten nods, saying "Yeah, our boat will be heading out in the morning."

"Then we'll be sure to come see you off then" says Sasami as she sits by Tenchi.

"Still, what was it Kagato was really wanting here?" wondered Shikamaru.

"I've been reading through his journal, and it has some interesting stuff in it" says Tenchi.

"Like what?" asked Ino.

"According to what he discovered, a very long time ago, Aquinia didn't exist. There was an island here, but not nearly as big. One night, a light pierced the skies and descended upon this island. To protect the precious light, a group of people from across our world who were working together at the time created a barrier around the island to protect the light. They then created the current island and placed it atop the barrier so that the light could never be violated" said Tenchi.

"But does he know what the light was?" asked Naruto.

Tenchi shakes his head and says "That's what he was wanting to find out. So obsessed with getting his answer that he was willing to destroy all of Aquinia in order to get it. Hey grandpa, what do you think...grandpa?" Katsuhito was no longer in the room.

"So, what are you gonna do now?" asked Hinata.

"I have this new power now and I want to learn to use it right, so I'm gonna do a lot of training. And I'm kind of curious about this light myself. So, I'll start researching it, but won't go as far as Kagato did. Who knows, maybe this power I have is connected with the light" was Tenchi's reply.

"And I'll be there, by his side, every step of the way" says Sasami, happily.

Outside the house, Katsuhito begins walking up to the shrine, the ancient picture in his hands; the picture of the ones who had seen the light and knew of its secret.

The next day, everyone was gathered at the docks and saying their goodbye's to one another. "Have a safe journey back" says Tenchi.

"And if you ever find yourselves here in Aquinia again, make sure you stop by and say hi" adds Sasami.

"We will" says Tenten, getting a nod of agreement from the others.

"Oh Tenchi" comes a voice from behind Tenchi, making him freeze. A girl pops her head in over his shoulder; a girl with large, bright, blue spiky hair. A girl who's breath reeked of booze.

"R...R...Ryoko, you're here" says Tenchi nervously. "When did you get back?"

"Just the other day. Me and my crew decided to have a stop off for some fun" Ryoko replies.

"Who's that?" asked Ino.

"Ryoko, miss Washu's daughter and a famous pirate" replies Sasami, making everyone stare deadpan at her.

"Come on, Tenchi, let's go have a drink together" says Ryoko before dragging Tenchi off, not giving him the chance to tell her no.

Sasami sighs and says "Well, I better go save him." She then runs off while the Shumoan's board the ship.

As they sail away, Naruto and Hinata stand side by side near the back and watch as Aquinia sinks further and further into the horizon. They look at each other and smile as Naruto places a hand on Hinata's shoulder while Hinata rest her head on Naruto's shoulder. One day, they would return to this Blue Kingdom. They just knew it.

**fin...**

**N.O. Info**

Well, that was Demon of the Blue Kingdom. I hoped you all liked it. For those of you wondering why I included characters from the Tenchi Muyo series instead of creating original characters, it was because it would be easier for me to tell you what they looked like seeing as you would already have something to go off of.

Also, I will admit that the idea to use them came late in the planning of this story. In fact, the idea came to me as I was writing part A of this movie fic. The original had a girl named Ruri as the heroine of the story and she was a member of the Temple of Sasami (which is what first gave me the idea right there). The name of the villain and his student had yet to be decided upon, though a had a few choices. And the original ending was Rurin falling for Naruto and pulling a Shion (from Shippuden movie 1) with Naruto, telling him to come back one day when she was older and he could help her revive her family. This of course, made both Hinata and Ino angry and they wasted no time ushering Naruto aboard the ship while Tenten laughed at the idea of them having a rival for Naruto's affection's.

Now, reader's of my Naruto Invoke: Overdrive fic may note there being some continuity error's existing within this story that would make it difficult to link it with Overdrive (like the fact this has to be happening before Naruto went with Jiraiya to Antana, yet he already knows Tenten here despite only meeting her for the first time the night before the trip began). The truth is that those continuity error's were not an accident; they were intentional. Why? Because even the best story has to have something that doesn't make sense, no matter how you look at it. If the error's bug you, then just don't think about it to much, ignore them. Works for me.

Now, as for a possible return trip to Aquinia? I do have one in the planning that I would like to tell someday. The story reveals the other threat Kagato was trying to warn them of as well as the secret of the light. But don't expect this story any time this year as there's a few other's the need to be told first.

Speaking of reveals, there's a deleted scene to this fic, believe it or not, I cut out do to certain potential plot revealing elements that were in the scene. The scene in question involves Katsuhito's thoughts as he walks to the shrine, looking at the ancient picture, at the end of the story. If anyone really wants to know what that scene is about, let me know and I'll throw it in as an extra in a future NIO chapter.

And now, here's a quick sneak peek of the next Naruto Invoke movie fic, coming this fall to .

_During Kiri's bloodline purge, he did horrible things_

_but all for the sake of one thing_

_the resurrection of his beloved daughter_

_and now, he is close to achieving his goal_

_he just needs one last critical piece to make his dream a reality_

_the perfect host body..._

**Naruto Invoke movie fic 2**

**Fade Away; Say My Name**


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